Beat & Rhyme's PLaylist
by Nobdy'sMelody
Summary: really, it's just a bunch of drabbles i wrote about Beat & Rhyme and all their brother/sister relationship cuteness. because there just isn't enough Beat/Rhyme stuff of Fanfiction today. ;
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: okay, so there are about ten stories on these two, so we ****obviously**** need some more Beat and Rhyme stuff on here. And brother/sister love is so cute.**

**And, that's my disclaimer.**

.1.

_You're such a trouble-maker_

_But I like you just that way._

_(-Crush, Selena Gomez)_

Rhyme wrapped an arm around her brother as he spat blood into the street, "That was really, really stupid, Beat."

He grinned at her: "Hey. No punk teases my sista an' escapes ju…ju…"

"Justice?"

"Yea, tha's the one. They'll think twice before they _think_ in ya direction."

Rhyme smiled and reached up, using her orange sleeve to wipe blood from her big brother's lips:

"Well, then, thank you, Beat. But, still, fighting them five-on-one was stupid."

"I won, di'n I?"

The girl giggled, "Let's get you home."

"Why can't you be more like your sister?" Rhyme winced when her mother yelled those words at her brother.

This happened every time Beat brought home a test. He always failed. He just didn't understand school. He wasn't book smart, but Rhyme knew her brother was street smart.

Beat took it in silence, his fist balling at his side. Rhyme slipped her small hand into his larger one as he father shook the test (_F-_) in Beat's face: "Do you even _try_?"

"I'm jus' no good at school like Rhyme is, yo," Beat tried to testify.

"Her name is not _Rhyme._ Why do you insist on calling Raimu that? And can you hear yourself? You can barely talk, Daisukenojō!"

Beat didn't answer. He just stormed out like he always did, Rhyme following behind like she always did.

She hugged him. "Beat, its okay. Mom and Dad just don't understand how smart you are because you're a _different_ kind of smart. But _I_ know you're smart and _you_ know you're smart, so don't worry. All we need is each other, anyway."

Beat said nothing. He only hugged her back.

Thunder sounded outside and Rhyme flinched. Suddenly, the front door opened. "Beat!" the younger girl cried, rushing towards her soaking-wet brother.

He used his wet hand to wipe the water from his face, "Yo, Rhyme, ya get me a towel?"

She did and helped him dry off. He peeled his dripping shirt form his body, wringing it out in the sink as she rubbed his torso dry. "Beat, its way past our curfew and its _pouring. _What were you doing out?"

He opened his palm and showed her a bell on a chain, "Fo you, little sis." He slipped it over her head.

"You idiot," she hugged him.

And then they entered the Reaper's Game.

(2)

_Tale as old as Time,_

_Song as old as Rhyme,_

_Beauty and the Beast…_

_(Beauty and the Beast, Jordin Sparks)_

Beat folded Rhyme's blankets over her body. Ever since the end of the Game, tucking her in became part of his nightly ritual. Take a shower, brush your teeth, and tuck Rhyme in.

She snuggled into her covers, sighing contently, "Good night, Beat."

"G'nigh', Rhyme," he kissed her forehead. "I love ya."

"I love you, too, _onii-chan_."

He walked across the hall to his room like he did every night, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it on the floor before flopping into bed.

About an hour later, after he knew his parents were asleep, he got out of bed like he did every night and snuck into Rhyme's room to check on his little sister. Then, he crawled into her bed, pulling the blankets over himself, and felt her skinny arms wrap around his waist, her face buried in his back.

He rolled over like he did every night, pulling her against his chest, proving to himself that she was there. Her cheek pressed to his collar as she whispered, "It's okay, Beat. You can sleep. Bad dreams can't get you here."

He hated that she comforted him like that. He was the big brother; he should be the one protecting her form bad dreams.

But like every night, he rested his cheek in her hair and answered, "Swee' dreams, Rhyme. I love ya."

His sister pressed a kiss to his cheek: "I know. I love you, too, Beat. Now sleep."

And in the morning, when their mom came in to wake Rhyme for school, she would find them as she had fond them every morning since they had come back from the dead:

Holding onto each other tightly, as if they only had each other, as if one of their worlds ended with the other.

(3)

_You think I'm pretty without any make up on._

_You think I'm funny when I get the punch line wrong._

_(Teenage Dream, Katy Perry)_

"Rhyme?" Beat knocked on her door, opening in. "Almos' ready?"

"Almost!" she called, not turning around to see her big brother.

"Wha are ya doin'?"

She turned away from the mirror, to giving him a look, "I'm dressing a cow. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Firs' off, tha' was not funny. Second off, ya look like yo' drawin' unda yo' eyes with a marker."

"It's called mascara and I keep messing up, that's why it's all under my eyes!"

He pulled the mascara wand from her hand and capped it, turning to her, frowning, "Why are ya puttin' make-up on?" He dangled the macara tube just out of her reached.

"It's to make me pretty." She jumped for it.

His frown deepened, pulling the tube farther away from her jumping figure. Couldn't she see she was beautiful without all that gunk on her face? "I think yo' beautiful wit'out all that make-up on."

She looked up at him, "Really?"

Beat nodded, "O' course. All them girls wit' that gunk on their face don' know tha' mos' the time it jus' makes them look like raccoons."

Rhyme laughed and finally grabbed the tube back form him, dropping it on the counter. "Let me wash it off. Then we can go."

(4)

_Could this be out of line?_

_To say you're the only one breaking me down like this?_

_(So Contagious, Acceptance)_

"You need to sleep, Beat," Rhyme whispered, yawing sleepily, stroking her brother's back. "It's been a week since the Game. You need to sleep."

He shivered when he nails scraped his back softly, where he'd have wings if he were still a Reaper. "I do'n wanna sleep, Rhyme. I wanna make sure yo' okay."

"I'm _fine_, Beat. Just tired. And I'm not sleep until you do."

He sighed, pulling her down beside him, "Fine. I'll sleep, yo. On three, we close our eyes. One. Two. _Three._"

They both closed their eyes, but Beat did not sleep. As soon as he was sure Rhyme's breathing was even, he opened his eyes and watched her sleep, brushing her blonde bangs away from her face.

He wondered if it was wrong to need to be near his sister all the time. He knew other siblings didn't act like that. Hell, most siblings couldn't stand each other.

He could still hear himself pleading with Neku. _I ain't asking again. Please, help me. You gotta help me save her!_

Certainly siblings did not need each other like Beat needed Rhyme. Without Rhyme, he had nothing. She was his everything. Was there anything wrong with that?

Maybe there was something wrong with him. Rhyme had a lot going for her _(Smart, funny, attractive)_ and she obviously needed him a lot less than he needed her. He was just dragging her down, holding her back, wasn't he?

He was just stupid, weak, obviously, if he couldn't pass his classes and he needed his little sister with him at all times.

Was that how love worked? Beat knew there were all kinds of love. Did they all work that way? Never wanting to be away from that person?

There was the kind of love Neku and Shiki had: that best friend kind of love. He knew he had for Rhyme. She was his best friend, after all.

There was the brother-sister thing he knew he had for Rhyme.

There was the kind of love his parents hand: the I-love-you-and-want-to-marry-you-and-kiss-you-and-keep-you-all-to-myself kind of love.

He didn't think he had _that_ for Rhyme. Sure, he wanted to keep her all to himself. But he didn't want to marry her- she was his _sister,_ for Pocky's sake! He didn't want to _kiss _her!

…Did he?

He stared at his sister's lips for a moment, his head titled to the side. He leaned in slightly and paused. _What are you doin', Beat? Thinkin' about kissin' Rhyme! Tha's wrong and ya know it. She's ya little sister. And she's sleepin'. Tha'd be takin' ad…adv…advat…advantage of her. Ya havin' _bad_ thoughts, Beat. Fo'get those thoughts, Beat. They ain't gonna do ya no good. Don' ya dare kiss her!_

But, of course, he didn't listen to his mind. He just leaned down and touched his lips to hers for a second, a _second._ He pulled away quickly, with a sharp intake of breath, watching as her eyelids fluttered and she sighed.

"Beat?" she whispered, reaching her hand out for him.

He slipped his fingers through hers, realizing with a shock how much bigger he was than her, "I'm righ' here, Rhyme."

She smiled sleepily, "Go to sleep, Beat. It's too late to be thinking."

He grinned softly as she snuggled into his side, rubbing her cheek against his shirt, her skinny arms tight around him. She ran her hand up and down his chest, trying to soothe him. "Go to sleep, Beat. Sleep. Sleep. Close your eyes."

He kissed the top of her head, "G'nigh', Rhyme."

"You know, Beat, sometimes I think I'm going to wake up and you'll be gone. Or that you'll have Reaper's wings coming out of your back and you'll fly away."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she yawned. "But I know you won't leave me when I need you."

"Ya need _me_?"

She sat up, pushing herself over him, staring directly into his blue eyes, "Of course I do, Beat. You're my big brother, my best friend. I'll always need you."

He smiled and pulled her down against his chest, "I love ya."

"I love you, too," she kissed his nose softly and he blinked. "Now, go. To. Sleep!"

He chuckled and closed his eyes as she settled under the blankets, her head over his heart. Beat finally, for the first night since the end of the Game, slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.

**A/N: and I know they suck. They were all written because I love Beat and Rhyme and I wish I had a brother like Beat to protect me. : ) my guy friends will have to do.**

**Usually, I re-read and re-read and re-read all my stories, looking for lots of mistakes, before I post them, but my friend told me I'm being paranoid, so I'm not going to do that with this one. I'm just going to post it.**

**Please Review. Or Rhyme's Nightmare will come true and Beat won't be there when she wakes up.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm baaaaaack. : )**

(5)

_He thinks about that little girl_

_And the one he has at home._

_(Father's Son, Three Doors Down)_

Neku spotted a familiar black beanie when he passed by the skate park. The annoying voice in his head that sounded like Shiki told him, _He's your friend. Say hi. _So he called out: "Beat!"

Said boy whipped around, away from his conversation, confused. When he finally saw Neku through the chain-link fence, he raised his hand in greeting.

Neku walked through the gateway to approach his friend and the stranger talking to him. The boy hadn't given the stranger a second thought, automatically assuming it was the skater's little sister. But the girl he saw definitely wasn't Rhyme.

She was close to Beat's arm like Rhyme always was, almost holding it. But she had long dark hair and a preppy little outfit, revealing, like the one Shiki had worn during the Game.

It was strange, Neku decided, to see a girl that wasn't Rhyme on Beat's arm.

"Yo, Phones!" Beat hit the smaller boy's back. Neku jolted forward. "I ain't seen ya in fo'eva!"

Neku chuckled, cracking his neck, fingering his headphones that rested around his neck. "Yeah, so…who's this?"

"Oh, I'm Akane," the girl introduced herself. "I was just thanking Beat for saving me the other day."

Neku furrowed his eyebrows, mind automatically switching to Game mode. What had he had to save her from? "Save you…?"

"Yeah, some guys were giving me some trouble, you know, pushing me around, stuff like that, and Beat stepped in like the hero he is," the girl fluttered her eyelashes at the skater, but he paid no mind.

Beat rubbed the back of his neck, "It ain't nothin'."

Neku punched the blonde's shoulder, "Look at that, Beat. You're a hero. Where's Rhyme?"

"Home."

"Oh." Weird. They were hardly ever without each other. "Well, I gotta go meet Shiki and Eri. See ya."

As he left, he looked over his shoulder at them, he saw the girl leaning close to Beat, her knee bent behind her, whispering in the boy's ear, her hand running up and down his muscular arm.

Neku shivered a bit. It was weird, seeing Beat with a girl that wasn't Rhyme.

"It was really nice of you to save me, Beat," Akane was whispering in his ear, her breath hot against his neck. He could feel her nails scraping lightly against his skin as her fingers ran up and down his arm.

"Y-yeah?"

"Mmhm." Being this close to her felt weird. He'd had Rhyme closer than this, why did it feel weird now? "I think I should thank you…" she trailed off.

"Ain't tha' whatcha doin'?"

"Look at me, Beat," the girl whispered. He did.

Her lips were on his. His eyes widened. Her lips were moving against his. What the Pocky?

This was nothing like the time he'd kissed Rhyme. She hadn't been awake or moving or touching him and there wasn't something wet touching his lips- wait, was that her tongue?

He pushed her away. It felt wrong. Then again, kissing Rhyme had felt wrong, too. But wrong in the way he knew that he shouldn't have done it. Not wrong in the way he felt like he should go take a shower and scrub it away.

"What?" Akane pouted. She didn't look like Rhyme at all and that didn't sit well with Beat. He hadn't exactly _liked_ it when he kissed Rhyme, but Rhyme was comfortable, Rhyme was familiar, Rhyme was his friend, his sister, his everything. "You didn't like my thank-you?"

He was blushing bad, he knew. He stepped away from her and rubbed the back of his neck. "Listen, I jus' don' think ya should be doin' tha'."

"Why not?" she leaned forward.

"Cause we don' like each otha, we don' _know_ each otha. I helped ya and tha's it. Nothin' more. I don' wan' ya ta kiss me/"

The girl shrugged, "Okay."

He took another step back as she asked, "Who's Rhyme?"

"My sista."

"Oh? Why did that boy seem surprised to see you without her?"

"Cause we always toget'a."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Is she why you won't kiss me?"

A beet-red blush rode on his face, "Wha?"

"Is she?"

"No! Why would my sista be the reason fo' me not kissin' ya?"

She leaned in close to him, "Have you ever kissed _her_?"

"None o' yo' business!"

"So you have."

"I gotta go."

He turned and sped away without waiting for her response. When he burst through their front door, Rhyme looked up from her book. "Beat? What's wrong?"

He grabbed her and wrapped her in a hug. "Beat?"

"Rhyme, yo' my favorite girl in th' world," he whispered as she pet his hair.

"Okay, thank you, Beat," she giggled, confused. "What brought this on?"

He let her go and sat beside her, "Girls be crazy, yo."

"Huh?" she folded her legs.

"I _saved_ some girl yestaday and today she came up and was kissin' me, yo. Said it was a _thank-you_," he explained to his sister, reaching for her can of soda.

"What'd you do?"

He shrugged, "I pushed 'er away, di'n I? Di'n wan' her rubbin' up on me."

Rhyme giggled, covering her mouth with her hand, "What did _she_ do?"

He paused, wondering if he should tell Rhyme that Akane had asked about her. "She asked me 'bout ya."

"Me?" Rhyme wrinkled her little nose.

Beat nodded, "Yeah. She thought ya was the reason I di'n wanna kiss 'er."

"Why would I be…?"

The older sibling wondered if she even remembered that he kissed her, if she'd ever known. "Cause I'm always wit' ya, Rhyme. Yo' my best friend and Phones said tha' it was weird we wasn't toget'a."

"Neku was there?"

"Fo' a bit, yeah."

The young girl nodded. Beat's heart ached. She was so good and pure, so innocent. He noticed she was wrapped in one of his shirts, only about five or six sizes too big for her little body. It made him smile.

"Rhyme?"

"Yeah?" he noticed that her attention was completely on him, her school books discarded beside her.

_What would you do if I had kissed you?_

He bit his lip. How do you even say that to your sister?

"Wha' would ya' do if I kissed ya?"

"Huh?"

"Wha' would ya do if I kissed ya?"

Rhyme was silent. "I…I don't…know…" she finally whispered.

"Jus' wonderin'. Don' take it so serious," he muttered, looking away. To ease the awkward silence, he sipped the soda.

"Beat," she said as he moved to stand, "I don't think it would change anything. You're my best friend and my big brother and I love you no matter what. You could murder someone brutally and I'd still love you. And if you kissed me, you'd still be my funny, skateboarding, street-smart, big brother."

He smiled at her and ruffled her hair, "Same here, little one."

(6)

_Solve the Mystery,_

_Fight the Battle,_

_Save the Girl…_

_(The Boys Are Back, High School Musical 3)_

"BEAT!" he could hear Rhyme running after him, the bell around her neck tinkling, her feet beating on the sidewalk as he skateboarded away.

He knew he should stop and let his sister comfort him like she always did, but what good would it be? She'd comfort him and he'd go home and then the next time he brought home a test they'd do it all over again.

"Beat! Please, stop! Slow down! Beat!"

He grinded across a bench and across the intersection. "Beat!" He heard. When he got to the other side, safely on the sidewalk, he turned to tell Rhyme to go home and leave him alone, but what he saw stopped his heart:

Rhyme, standing in the middle of the intersection, frozen in fear, staring at the car speeding towards her.

She looked to him, "Beat…"

The car honked, despite the fact that she obviously couldn't move and the car couldn't stop.

Beat didn't think, but when did he ever? He only kicked his board away and dove, dove straight towards his terrified little sister, grabbing her, shielding her body with his, hunching his body over hers. He closed his eyes in fear.

He heard a sickening crunch as the car collided with his back, throwing him forward, toppling him onto Rhyme, his broken weight on her. He heard her little head hit the pavement.

When he opened his eyes, everything was blurry. "Rhyme…?" he tried to say, but no sound came out. He saw a little body next to his, his fingers limply intertwined with hers. He could see the red in her blonde hair and he knew it was blood.

"Rhyme!" he tried to cry out. No, not his little sister, not his Rhyme. "RHYME!" he wanted to scream. "HELP!"

He just tried as hard as he could to make his fingers work and he saw them twitch. He focused all his energy on his fingers and finally they closed around hers, the spaces between his fingers fitting her long, thin ones perfectly.

There. He had her. Even in death, which he could tell was coming, he had her.

Finally, he forced his vocal cords to work: "Rhyme…"

Everything went black.

**A/N: a disclaimer in every chapter is really annoying.**

**That's my disclaimer.**

**Okay, I know these all suck, but I need to put them up and get them out of my system. I got my friend Scott to agree to be my big brother today, so now I have my own Beat. : ) **

**Seriously, reviews make a writer's day. I haven't gotten a review (that wasn't from someone I know personally) in a while, so I'll even take flames. **

**But I'd prefer no flames. : ) thanks.**


	3. Chapter 3

**And I'm back AGAIN. Wow, three days in a row, three chapters in a row! *excitement***

**I'm sure no one cares, but he's another chapter of Beat and Rhyme's Play-list. : ) **

(7)

_You're with me._

_You've been here all along._

_(Been Here All Along, Hannah Montana)_

**R**hyme's toes pointed inward as she stood outside her school. Seven-year-old Beat stood next to her, watching her nervous expression.

"What if no one likes me?" the girl whispered.

Her big brother chuckled and reached for her little hand, "Rhyme, they all gon' love ya." Even then, he couldn't talk right.

She smiled at him fearfully, nodding as he led the six-year-old to the doors. "Jus' be careful and follow th' rules," the boy said.

He walked her to her classroom, holding her shaking hand in his. He stopped in front of the door and held her shoulders. "Ya gon' be fine." He leaned in and kissed her forehead softly. "I'll see ya later."

She nodded and watched her brother walk away, missing the warmth of his hand in hers as she reached for the cold door handle.

**Fastforward.**

**B**eat stood by the pretty orange motor bike. "Get on." She slid onto the bike, hands shaking. "Ya wanna learn or wha?"

Rhyme watched fearfully as her brother stood beside her. He reached for her little hand, "Ya a'ight?"

She nodded, "Yeah. Just nervous."

"Don' be. Yo' gon' be a great driver, Rhyme."

The girl smiled at her brother, placing both hands on the steering bars.

Her father had fought against this. He didn't want Beat teaching Rhyme to drive the motorbike. He thought Beat would get her killed for sure. She wasn't even sixteen yet. She shouldn't even be learning.

Then again, Beat had learned illegally, too.

"Ya don' hafta learn if ya don' wanna," newly seventeen-year-old Beat commented. It had been two year since the Game and he still didn't like the idea of Rhyme going anywhere without him.

And he didn't like the idea that soon she'd be able to up and go without warning, without him, away, faster, faster, faster.

She looked at him uneasily and bit her lip. "I want you to keep walking me everywhere," she whispered.

He smiled a wide smile and helped her off the bike. She fixed her large orange sweatshirt and brushed her bangs away from her eyes.

He grabbed her hand, his so warm in hers, and pulled her down the street, talking loudly away about how they could go get some coffee, could call up Phones and Shiki, and Rhyme smiled.

They neared an intersection and beat stopped dead, looking both ways again and again, a habit ever since the Game. She wanted to walk, everything was clear, but she couldn't.

The warmth in her hand held her there.

**Rewind**

**T**he pain in her head was so sharp it almost made her numb. She could feel haziness spreading throughout her body and when she opened her eyes, everything was blurry.

Beat. She couldn't see Beat. She had, of course, seen him throw himself in front of the car, blocking the blow with his body. She had, obviously, felt his strong arms around her as the car collided with his back.

And she had felt the ground collide with her head.

Warmth, warmth on her hand. Fingers were slipping through hers; she could feel them. They were rough, scrapped, warm. Beat's fingers. She knew they were Beat's.

Beat was holding her hand. Beat was there.

"Rhyme…" she heard his hoarse voice whisper.

Everything faded to black.

**(**_**A/N: you have to be 16 to drive a motorbike in Japan, 18 to drive a car.)**_

(8)

_I can't remember when you weren't there__,  
When I didn't care for anyone but you._

_(Through the Years, Kenny Rogers)_

Thunder sounded outside. Rhyme jumped, clutching her blankets to her chest. She shivered, her fear of the monster that was a storm taking hold of her heart with its cold, icy, windy hands.

Thunder boomed and lightening cracked, so loud it shook the house more than one of her father and brother's screaming matches. Rhyme squeaked in fear.

She swung her feet out of bed, her bare toes touching the cold floor. Thunder crashed again as she took a step and soon she was running as fats as she could into Beat's room.

She threw herself into his bed, her hands reaching for his warmth, fingers shaking. "Rhyme? Wha's wrong, little one?" she heard him ask sleepily as his arms wrapped around her.

"T-t-thunder," she stuttered out, pressing her face into her brother's collarbone.

"Aw, Rhyme," he kissed her hair, "It's a'ight. Nothin' can hurt ya here. I'll protect ya. No worries, yo."

She fell asleep in her brother's warm arms.

(9)

_Tonight, __I'ma fight_

'_til we see the sunlight._

_(Tik Tok, Ke$ha)_

Beat looked around, sleepy but alert. He couldn't sleep. What if Noise attacked? Beat had to protect Rhyme, who was curled in a ball at his side, her head on his lap.

He gently brushed her hair. She didn't remember him. She didn't even know him. She had no idea that she was his beloved little sister, his favorite person in the world.

This game was insane, this Reaper's Game. He shivered. He wrapped his arms around his little sister's body, hoisting her up into his lap, resting her little head on his shoulder. She never stirred once as he moved her closer to him.

It was his fault they died. If he hadn't run away, if he had stopped for her, if he hadn't ignored her calls, they wouldn't be in this stupid game.

He vividly remembered their deaths and his arms tightened around Rhyme's petite body as he thought about the car hitting them. He remembered the pain clear as day, but what he remembered most was his concern for Rhyme.

The girl wiggled in his arms as the sky began to lighten, pressing her face into his neck, wrapping her arms around him like he was a teddy bear, snuggling closer.

He felt her eyelashes flutter against the side of his throat as she opened her eyes and yawned. She lifted her head from his shoulder, "Good morning, Beat."

"Mornin', Rhyme," he smiled sadly.

"Did you sleep at all?" she touched the dark shadows forming under his eyes. _Why is he so familiar?_

It broke his heart t see her like this, so close, so familiar, but with no indication of memory of their lives together. He shrugged, "Needed ta protect my partna, yo."

She smiled, "I'm glad you're my partner, Beat. You take such good care of me." She stood and brushed off her pants and then offered him her hand. He took it, even though there was no way she could help him up. Once he was standing, she swung his hand through the air, "But you have to take better care of yourself."

And she skipped off into the sunrise, Beat watching before smiling and following.

(10)

_Now the party don't start 'til_

_I walk in._

_(Tik Tok, Ke$ha)_

Beat and Rhyme walked into their math class. Beat was always embarrassed to be in the same class as his little sister, seeing as he was dumb enough to have to repeat the course. But he was grateful to have Rhyme there to help him.

"Raimu! Daisukenojo Bito!" the teacher frowned as the two strolled in late. "Why are you late?"

Rhyme giggled at her brother's expression; he hated his name. "Sorry, sensei," she smiled sweetly, "we _couldn't_ get to class on-time."

"Couldn't? Why not?" Even the strictest teachers were no match for Rhyme's smile.

She giggled, "Beat had his swag on."

"Jus' walkin' down the hallway, keepin' my own pace, sensei," Beat explained, shrugging, as he pulled out his notebook. "I ain't hurryin' up and rushin' for some bell. I prefer ta keep my heart-rate even, yo."

The teacher shook his head and walked to the board, "No more _swag_ in the hallways, Daisukenojo Bito. Get to class on time."

"Whateva ya say, sensei," Beat smirked. Rhyme giggled.

(11)

_Stand up straight_

_Do your trick__…_

_(Who's To Say, Vanessa Carlton)_

Rhyme laced her fingers together, watching her mother and father converse with important business people. She felt so uncomfortable in her blue dress, hair free from her beanie, little blue ballet slippers on her feet. But she knew Beat felt even more awkward than she did in his tuxedo and un-beanie-d head and dress shoes. It was only a bit different from his usually baggy clothes.

"This is our daughter, Raimu, and our son, Daisukenojo," their mother gestured to the two teens.

"Oh, dear, they're so lovely. She's beautiful and he's so handsome. I bet they're _brilliant _students," the old, obviously rich and important, woman said.

"It's very nice to meet you," Rhyme smiled graciously, her cheeks blushing pink.

Beat nodded to the lady, "Nice ta meet ya, yo."

The woman's eye widened the second she heard Beat talk and their father slapped his hand to his forehead. Rhyme blushed for her brother, who only lowered his eyes. Their mother sighed and said, "Daisukenojo, don't play around like that. Speak _properly._"

Now Beat did blush, only because, to him, that was proper speech. He couldn't talk the way his parents wanted him to. He slouched in his seat, biting his lip.

When their father led the woman away, talking of other things, their mother turned to the children: "Daisukenojo, how _dare_ you embarrass your father and I in front of her like that?"

"All he did was say it was nice to meet her," Rhyme defended quietly. She hated it when he parents degraded Beat just because he was different.

"Why can't you just _speak properly_?" Mrs. Bito sighed angrily. "You always embarrass us! Why can't you be more like Raimu?"

Beat sighed, "I'ma try harder, Ma, _promise_. I'm sorry, yo."

"Just…just sit here, and don't talk to anyone," their mother instructed him. "And sit up _straight._ And Raimu, perhaps, later, you can play the piano for everyone."

Rhyme nodded and looked down in shame. Why couldn't Beat have some talent that would please their parents? Rhyme loved him the way he was, but sometimes she wished she could give him some of her talents so he could impress everyone.

"S'okay, Rhyme. I jus' ain't good at Ma and Pop's kinda stuff," Beat reached for her hand, stroking her palm with his thumb, "But when I be a _pro _skateboarder, it ain't gonna matta if I can do all of it or not."

Rhyme smiled at Beat's confidence, nodding. "You bet that's right, Beat."

(12)

_And they say we're too young_

_But maybe you're too old to remember_

_(Who's To Say, Vanessa Carlton)_

"You have no goals!" Beat didn't flinch as his father yelled in his face.

"Yeah, I do, man! I'ma be a pro skateboarder!"

Beat knew Rhyme was sitting on the stairs behind him, watching, listening, and waiting to comfort Beat after the massive blow-out was over.

"You're too young to realize how stupid a goal that is!"

"Nah, yo! It's gon' happen!"

Their mother broke in, "It's _very_ stupid!"

The fight went on for awhile more and Beat stormed upstairs, past Rhyme, to his room. When his door opened and Rhyme poked her head in with a meek "Beat," he looked up and opened his arms.

The small girl automatically rushed into his arms and held him as he muttered about how their parents didn't understand and they never would.

"Why should you even care what they think?" Rhyme whispered. "One day, maybe not soon, but one day, I know they'll see just how great you are."

"Ya so smart, Rhyme," he wiped his eyes as angry tears escaped.

"I know," she smiled, "But I still can't ride a skateboard or sing to any of those songs you like to save my life."

They grinned at each other and talked until the moon had risen, at which time they lay down and fell asleep, content in just having each other.

__**I know these suck, once again, but I'm posting them anyway. **

**Review Review Review! : )**


	4. Chapter 4

**And I'm back AGAIN. And….*looks around* I'm sure no one cares at all.**

**This installment is going to be dedicated to my friend Katie Belle, because she's amazing, and my friend Jess, because she actually read this.**

**Insert witty disclaimer here.**

(12)

_Don't be fooled by all my tears_

'_cause everything is fine._

_(I Don't Miss You At All, Selena Gomez)_

It was hard for Beat to ignore the dried tear streaks he saw on his sister's face everyday as they walked home from school everyday. He wondered if he should mention it. On one hand, if someone was messing with her, he had some ass to whoop. On the other hand, what if she was sad about something she couldn't tell him? Like…girl stuff? The stuff she should talk about with Shiki or their mom?

Or, Joshua forbid, it was a…_boy_?

Oh, if I boy put his hands anywhere near Rhyme, Beat knew he would make sure those hands could never reach for anything again without the help of a medical assistant. Just thinking about someone touching Rhyme made his hands twitch, eager to break some bones.

When he confessed his fears to Neku, the boy had _laughed._ Laughed! "Beat," he had said, "Rhyme's a big girl. She can take care of herself. And if it's a boy, I'm sure she wouldn't be crying about it unless he rejected her. And who would do that?"

"But, wha' if it _is_ a boy an' he, ya know, _hurt_ 'er, or forced 'er inta somethin'?"

But Neku had only smiled a small half smile and told him: "I'm sure that's not it, Beat. You're crazy brotherly instinct to protect her is in over-drive. If you're so worried, _ask her_ about it."

"But wha' if it's… _girl stuff_?" the skater blushed.

"Then, she'll most likely tell you that. Rhyme's straightforward."

When Beat got home, he knocked uncertainly on her door. "Rhyme?"

He heard her sniffle and finally, her voice, "Yeah?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

He opened the door, walking in uncertainly. He sat down on her bed besides her looking anywhere but her. Hey, there was her old pink helmet. Look, there was her radio. Oh my Joshua, did she really still have that teddy bear he won her at that one carnival?

"Did you want something, Beat?" her voice was small and when he looked over at her, he saw that she was small, too. She was curled into a ball, her knees to her chest.

"Ya been cryin', Rhyme, I noticed. Ya got tears on yo' face everyday afta school, and I wanna know wha's up," he bit his lip.

The girl was silent for a while and then, pushing her bangs away from her face, said, "It's nothing I can't handle."

"Bull!" he slapped the mattress, making her jump. He felt bad about that, but he needed her to know that he could help. "Rhyme, ya _cryin'._ An' I almos' neva seen ya cry befo'. Tell me wha's wrong so I can help ya."

"It's nothing!" she insisted. "I can handle it!"

"Jus' tell me!"

"Beat! I'm fine!" He saw tears well in her eyes. She had raised her hand as if to slap him. He gently wrapped his fingers around her skinny little wrist.

"Rhyme," he whispered softly, looking at her sadly, his voice as gentle as his touch, "Jus' tell me wha's goin' on. _Please._"

She was silent, shaking slightly, until she finally answered:

"I've just been having trouble with some of the kids at school, is all. They don't really like me much. Like, in our advanced art class, I had finished my project and I thought it was really good, I was really proud, and when I went to clean my brushes, someone threw black paint all over it so now it's ruined. And I've had my homework stolen. Oh, and stealing my beanie and playing Rhyme-In-The-Middle seem to be a big hit with them."

His mouth was open slightly in shock. People were teasing Rhyme? "Why di'n ya tell me?"

"Because I'm handling it on my own. I can do it on my own. I'm not a little girl. I don't need you to protect me from everything," she looked up at him. "In the Game, I was so useless. But you protected me. And even out of the Game, you protect me from _everything._ And I'm still so useless!"

"Rhyme, ya ain't useless!" he frowned. "Ya so smart and talented. Don' let them stupid kids get ta ya!"

She smiled at him, giggled, "Yeah, yeah, okay, Beat."

(13)

_Feel the music_

_Take you higher…_

_(More, Selena Gomez)_

Rhyme laughed loudly when Beat grabbed her hand and drug her to the dance floor. This wasn't a slow song, like their mother always wanted them to dance to. It was thumping, loud, fast-paced, just like the crowd.

Neku was right: this band was amazing. Rhyme was glad the boy had had other things to do that night, giving his two friends the tickets.

The beat and movement of the crowd, the feel of bodies meshing together, the throbbing music, all combined, made Rhyme dizzy with excitement, with freedom as her arms went up, reaching for the heavens and her hips moved to the sound of the music.

The young girl felt hands on her hips from behind, the hands leading her lips to move just a bit more, and looked over her shoulder to spy lavender eyes and a smirk. "Joshua?" Suddenly, a strong arm had wrapped around her waist, yanking her away from the Composer's long fingers. She was pressed firmly against Beat's chest, but there was no dancing now. Beat was rigged, his blue eyes slanted in a glare at Joshua.

"Wha do ya want?" her brother hissed.

Rhyme was surprised Joshua had heard Beat over the thump of the music, seeing as she hardly had, and even more surprised when he answered: "Dancing with a friend."

"Don' be touchin' Rhyme," Beat growled, loosening up, ready for a fight.

"Oh, _that's _right," the young Composer said sarcastically, rolling his eyes, "I forget. She belongs to you."

"Rhyme ain't a thing ya can own," Beat clutched his sister closer to his chest. "But she's more mine than yo's."

"Oh, yeah," Joshua ran a hand through his hand, "she was your price in the Game, wasn't she? Well, her memories. And then her little Noise form. Poof. The Iron Maiden was really harsh in that circumstance."

Rhyme felt Beat stiffen. Of course, Rhyme remembered the Game. The last thing she remembered of the Game was the Shark Noise chomping on her ribs. "I was a Noise?" she looked up at the skater.

He nodded. "So cute, too," Joshua commented, "a fluffy, pink flying squirrel. Absolutely adorable. And you knew so much. So intriguing."

"Jus' shut up and leave befo' I punch yo' face in," Beat threatened. The Composer held up his hands, as if pleading innocence, stepping back, as Rhyme's brother said, "And if ya _ever_ touch Rhyme again wit'out her saying ya can-"

"Then again," the smaller boy smirked, the air around him crackling with energy, "I'm not the only one to touch Rhyme without her permission."

Beat stiffened, his arms loosening around his sister. She looked up at him, worried suddenly, "Beat?"

"But, at least _my_ offence wasn't too bad," Joshua continued. "At least I didn't, oh, I don't know, _kiss _her."

And Beat lost all self-control. His fist flew towards Joshua's face, through the high frequency that burned so hot against his skin, and connected with a sickening crunch to the Composer's nose.

The smaller boy held his nose as blood seeped through his fingers, "Nice hit, Daisukenojo. Well, I'll see you later, Rhyme, dear." He waved and was gone.

"Beat, why'd you hit him?"

"'Cause he's sick, sayin' things he don' know a damn thing 'bout," Beat muttered. "Jus' fo'get him, Rhyme, and dance."

He laced their fingers together and raised her arms above her head, and she twirled, dancing as the music once again took a hold of her.

**AND, END, this chapter of Beat and Rhyme's Play-list. **

**Only two little ones this time. Oh, well, it is a Friday night, after all. Not that I have any plans… : (**

**Oh, Joshua's as just fruity as a Christmas cake, isn't he? ****; ) Haha. I added him just for my one friend, who loves Joshua so much, he's her favorite. "Joshua is God," is her saying, which was the birth of "Oh my Joshua" and "Joshua forbid."**

**Review if you love the brother/sister cuteness.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm baaaaaack. : )**

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(14)

_I can do that_

_But I can't let you leave_

_(Please Don't Go, Barcelona)_

Beat had always thought heartbreak was stupid. It was something people with unrequited love felt because they were idiotic enough to love someone who would never love them back. Or loving someone who it was impossible to love. He had seen the movies, he had read the books. At least one person is always disappointed and sometimes, they even kill themselves.

Why would you set yourself up for that, anyway? Why love someone that much when we all know that nothing's going to work out in the end?

Beat decided that he would never let anyone break his heart. He didn't want heartache. Loving someone that much, like Romeo and Juliet, would just end badly.

And then he woke up and was told the rules of the game. He was pointed in Rhyme's direction and told his entry fee had been paid. _A'ight,_ he thought._ Rhyme's my partner. A'ight. We can do this, yo. Me and Rhyme. We can do anythin'._

Even though he was dead, he and his sister were getting a second chance, so he smiled. He walked over and touched her shoulder. She turned and smiled up at him.

Beat decided that he would never let anyone break his heart. But the words his sister spoke when she turned and smiled up at him shattered his heart like a mirror made of ice, the cold shards cracking and stabbing him:

"Hi, I'm Rhyme. Are you my partner? Please take care of me."

His smile had dropped from his face. She didn't remember him? Instead of grabbing her shoulders and shaking her, yelling _Rhyme, I'm yo' brother,_ he swallowed and smiled a small, sad smile and said:

"Y-yeah, ya bet I will."

That had made her smile widely and she had reached for his hand, pulling him along, chatting happily about how everything looked different now and she wondered if that was because now no one could see her.

Every time she looked at him with that vague smile, with no idea that this was her brother she was talking to, his heart broke a little more and he started to wonder if maybe, just maybe, the pieces would keep breaking until they were so small that only dust would be left. _Crack, crack, crack._

And when she pushed him out of the way, letting the Shark Noise's jaws clamp around her ribs (_Oh, God, that must hurt)_, his entire body seized up as he watched her be erased, gone from his life forever. _Crack, crack, crack._

And then the little pink Noise that he carried on his shoulder was the closet he would get to having her again, and Rhyme was gone again with one squeeze of the Iron Maiden's fist. _Crack, crack, crack._

Beat decided that there couldn't be many heart-shards left, could there? I mean, the heart can only be broken so many times, so many ways, right? But everything thought of Rhyme brought on such a stinging pain in his chest that he could practically hear the _crack, crack, crack_ of his breaking heart.

And then he sat there, in the middle of Shibuya, people bumping into him, stepping over him, and saying _well, excuse you_, and he realized he'd won the Game and he was alive again. He ran his hands over his body, an astonished look on his face, which must've looked strange to any passerby, and laughed. _Laughed._

Then he realized that there was no one beside him. No Phones, no Rhyme. He was alone. His heart dropped to the ground and he could hear what was left of it shatter completely. No Rhyme…

Suddenly, he heard a whimper beside him and turned to look, startled. A girl was sitting up, rubbing her head. When he opened her blue, blue eyes and spotted Beat beside her, she grinned widely, "Beat! We're okay!"

He felt tears leaking into his eyes as he grabbed his sister and buried his face in her hair, whispering again and again, "Rhyme…Rhyme…Rhyme…"

He could feel the little pieces of his heart clicking back together, rising up off the ground, creating a whole heart again as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, "Beat…"

Beat decided that maybe loving someone wasn't so bad, wasn't so stupid. It felt good- no, it felt _great _to love someone because they made you who you are; they made you **whole.**

(15)

_I'm a not a child, now,_

_I can take care of myself_

_(I'll Try, Jesse McCartney)_

It was easy to notice that Beat tried to be tougher and rougher than he really was. In truth, though he would never admit to it, he was a big softie. Especially when it came to his little sister.

Shiki could tell this easily, as they sat at Hachiko. It was starting to get colder out, what with winter on the way, and Beat was wrapped in a sweatshirt. Or, at least, he had been, until he saw Rhyme shivering as a harsh wind blew.

Seeing him give up his sweatshirt made Shiki smile. The sweatshirt practically engulfed Rhyme's little frame, but she looked warm now, and Beat wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close against his side as the wind blew again.

"Maybe we should hang out…oh, I don't know, _inside_, until its warmer," Neku suggested with a hint of sarcasm.

"We could go get some coffee," Rhyme suggested, trying to find her hands in the long sleeves of her brother's sweatshirt.

"I'm _all_ for coffee," Shiki stood, grinning.

"Raise your hand if you vote on getting Shiki decaf," Neku joked, raising his hand high in the air. Beat raised the hand that wasn't around Rhyme's shoulders and the youngest girl tried to raise hers. Beat finally helped her roll up the sleeves.

Shiki pouted, hands on her hips, "I'm not _that_ bad."

"You are," Neku teased, poking her side.

Shiki walked ahead of everyone, looking over her shoulder. Beat held tightly to his sister's hand as they crossed the street, his eyes darting every which way.

"Beat, I can walk across the street by myself," Shiki heard Rhyme say quietly, but she saw how tightly the younger girl was holding to her brother's hand, her knuckles turning white. "I'm not a little girl."

"Ya' do _not_ let go o' me," Beat ordered. "Ya' do not let go."

Neku laughed at Beat's over-protective-ness, but it made Shiki grin. She noticed that sometimes Beat acted more like he was Rhyme's boyfriend than her brother, but she supposed it was just because Rhyme was so important to him. And Shiki secretly wished someone cared about her like that.

Shiki almost walked into the last intersection that separated her and the coffee shop, but Neku suddenly grabbed her hand and drew he quickly back against his chest. Just then, a car sped through the intersection, ignoring all lights and stop signs.

"Be careful, idiot," Neku scolded softly, looking both ways before pulling her across the street.

"See wha' can happen, Rhyme. Shiki almos' died. Now do ya see why I need ta hold yo' hand?" the fifteen-year-old girl heard Beat telling his sister.

"I know, Beat," the younger girl was saying. "I know. I don't mind."

"If it weren't fo' Phones, Shiki be dead righ' now," Beat muttered. "Wha' would I do if tha' happened to ya?"

Shiki grinned, squeezing Neku's hand as they entered the coffee shop. Maybe she did have someone who cared for her that much, after all.

**Aw, yes, so cute. I added some slight little Shiki/Neku in there just for certain people. ; ) and, as always, the Beat/Rhyme brother/sister cuteness.**

**The only one in this chapter I ****really**** like is the first one, but the second ones' not half-bad either, in my opinion.**

**Maybe you should hit the review button and give me yours? *wink wink***


	6. Chapter 6

**And I'm back AGAIN. And….*looks around* who cares? *crickets***

**This installment is going to be dedicated to my dog, Brownie, who passed away this morning. I've had him since second grade and I'm in tenth grade now, so I thought this chapter could be his memorial. : (**

**Also, I know that there are a lot of errors, but that's because Mircosoft Word is out of whack and I'm also not really double-checking everything with these drabbles. Please forgive me in advance. *bows* Gomen nasai.**

**I'm pretty sure the only **_**The World Ends With You **_**thing I could own is the pictures I drew in art class. And maybe not even those.**

(16)

_I was seven and you were nine_

_I looked at you like the stars that shined in the sky_

_The pretty lights._

_(Mary's Song, Taylor Swift)_

Personally, Joshua thought that Beat was an absolute imbecile. There wasn't one sharp point that kid had.

His little sister, on the other hand, was absolutely brilliant.

The Composer of Shibuya did not understand why the genius of a girl looked at her brother so awestruck. She wasn't teasing, he was sure. The girl was never teasing. Rhyme was seriously captivated by her brother.

And Joshua had no idea why.

It bothered him. As Composer, he liked to know everything. He could easily slip into her thoughts and get the answer, but something about doing that to the trusting and innocent girl felt cruel and dirty.

So he watched. He watched as Beat wiped out at the Skate Park and Rhyme clapped, telling him he could do it, whatever it was the skater was attempting to do. He watched as Beat sat hunched over his homework, brow furrowed in concentration, while Rhyme easily told him what he needed to do to get the answer. He watched as Beat fought with his parents, Rhyme occasionally throwing in a comment about how her brother was _trying._ He watched as Beat grabbed Rhyme's hand when they neared the street. He watched as Beat drew her against his body to protect her from a harsh wind. He watched as Beat ruffled his sister's hair, laughing. He watched as Beat messily scarfed down three bowls of rice in the time it took Rhyme to eat one.

He could not understand. Sure, Beat obviously cared for his sister, but he was nowhere near awe-inspiring, especially for a girl that shined as bright as Rhyme.

One night, as he grew bored of watching the siblings sleep, he looked around Rhyme's room. It wasn't as boyish as he expected, but it wasn't girly, either. More like a library of books and music.

A box in the corner caught his eye. It was old-looking, and filled with tapes. He lifted it and read the side: "Home Videos."

Joshua raised an eyebrow. The Bitos had home videos? How cute. Walking down the stairs, he found the television and turned it on.

A loud laugh from the device made him jump and he quickly turned down the volume. Slipping in the movie titled _Beat's Ninth Birthday_ in what was obviously Rhyme's handwriting, he settled back on their couch to watch.

A young Beat and Rhyme were running around their back yard. Rhyme was watching Beat as if he were the most fascinating thing in the world, her eyes shining, as her brother whacked at a piñata. The candy spilled out and the two children rushed forward. Beat scooped up a handful of candy and slipped it into Rhyme's pink bag.

"_Rhyme likes this kind o' candy, righ'?" _His voice was so young, so different from how it was now. No gruffness, only innocence. The young boy was smiling, missing a few teeth, too, and putting all of the chocolate truffles into Rhyme's bag.

Young Rhyme giggled, pulling at the end of her frilly pink dress, matching ribbons in her hair waving in the wind as she reached for the lollipops and began putting them all in Beat's bag. _"Daisukenojo likes l-l-l-lollies!"_

Beat taught her to share.

Joshua chuckled quietly. "Such cute children," he commented as he slipped in another movie. "Now to watch _Decorating For Christmas, Beat: 8, Rhyme: 7."_

A young Rhyme was talking to the camera. "_Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, today, I learned a song at school."_

"_Why don' ya sing it, Rhyme?"_ young Beat called as he strung tinsel on the tree.

"_Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose," _the little girl sang, giggling, spinning around, twirling to Beat. He grabbed her hands and danced with her.

"_Like a light-bulb!"_

"_And if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows."_

"_Like a flash-light!" _young Beat cut in, laughing loudly. Young Rhyme fell to the floor in laughter, pulling him down with her.

Beat taught her happiness.

Joshua picked up one last movie, labeled _Bringing Rhyme Home_. It was a curious title and he couldn't help wonder exactly what it meant.

There was a slightly younger Mrs. Bito, holding a baby wrapped in a pink blanket. _"Come here, Daisukenojo, meet your little sister."_

The boy couldn't have been more than two, though he was probably a bit younger. He peered at the baby. _"She's so wittle, Mummy."_

Their mother nodded, _"She's going to be little for a while. But someday she'll be as big as you."_

"_Wha's 'er name?"_

"_Raimu. Isn't it pretty?"_

"_Waimu?" _the young boy reached out a finger to stroke her nose. The baby twitched her nose, moving in the blankets, blue eyes opening and focusing on Beat. He smiled: _"Hello, Waimu. I'm yo' big brother. I wuv ya."_

Beat had taught her love.

"Joshua?" Said boy turned around sharply, surprised. There, standing on the bottom step, rubbing her eye sleepily, was Rhyme. "What are you doing here?"

"Catching up on some of your family history, Raimu, dear."

"Family history?" she questioned blearily. She sat down beside him, spying the box. "Oh, our home videos."

"You were very cute children," he commented, flicking his hair out of his eyes.

She shrugged, "Yeah, I guess so." Her short blonde hair was a mess, her shirt falling off her shoulder. The Composer smiled, finding it endearing:

"Well, Raimu, dear, it seems Daisukenojo taught you a lot."

Rhyme nodded, "Yeah. Beat's taught me almost everything I know. Well, you know, not the things like math and everything, but things like happiness and laughing at yourself and humility and…"

"Love?"

She smiled widely, "Especially love."

Joshua finally understood.

(17)

_Take me back to the time we had our very first fight,_

_Slamming our doors instead of kissing goodnight_

_(Mary's Song, Taylor Swift)_

Beat had never thought he'd see the day he and Rhyme fought.

Rhyme was a relatively calm person. She didn't start fights. She ended them. "Violence is not the answer." "A problem shared is a problem halved."

She'd never fought with their friends. She got along well with everyone, even Joshua, who loved to press everyone's buttons.

He'd heard her yelling at their parents a couple times after he'd stormed upstairs. But that was rare, because she always came up to comfort him instead.

"Rhyme, where the Hell were ya?" he frowned when she came in late, closing the front door behind her.

"I was out," she took off her coat.

"Doin' wha'?"

"Hm…" she stopped to tap her chin, rolling her eyes, "I went to get some coffee, helped a little boy find his mom, listened to this guy playing guitar in the park, watched some people skate at the Skate Park, went to the library, stopped into Wild-Boar, and took a short-cut home."

"A short-cut? Rhyme, ya know wha' kinda creeps chill in th' alleys aroun' here!"

"It's fine! Nothing happened, Beat! I didn't get mugged or raped or hit by a car!"

"But ya could've!"

"But I didn't!  
Beat sighed angrily, taking off his beanie to run his fingers through his hair quickly, "Rhyme, when ya gon' learn the world ain't all rainbows an' sunshine? I love tha' ya trust people and ya give second chances, but bad things can happen to ya and ya don' even realize they can!"

"People are good, on some level, Beat," she said, "they have reasons for what they do."

"An' the little girl on th' news tha' was raped las' week, they had a _good reason_ for doin' tha' ta her?" he questioned, pointing towards the black TV.

"I never said it was a good reason," Rhyme looked up at him. "Listen, Beat, nothing happened, I'm fine, so why are we even fighting?"

"Cause ya need ta realize that ya need ta be careful when I ain't there ta protect ya!" he yelled, glad their parents weren't home.

"I DON'T' NEED YOU TO PROTECT ME!" Rhyme finally screamed, tears falling down her face. "I WOULDN'T HAVE EVEN TAKEN A SHORT CUT IF I HADN'T BEEN LATE BECAUSE I STOPPED AT WILD-BOAR TO GET YOU A PRESENT! HERE! HAPPY?"

She threw the Wild-Boar bag at his feet and ran up the stairs, crying, slamming her door behind her. Beat stopped, staring at the bag. He bent down and picked it up.

Opening the bag, he saw a beautifully crafted pendant. At the end of the chain was a silver dragon with sapphire eyes, a skull dangling from its pointed tail. "Oh," he whispered, mesmerized by the piece of jewelry.

It must've cost Rhyme a fortune, he decided, since she never borrowed money from their parents.

After a few minutes of standing there, feeling like a jerk, he climbed the stairs to her room, knocking softly on the door. "Rhyme?"

"What?" she said sharply, but he could hear her tears.

"Can I come in, yo?"

"Go ahead."

He opened the door and sat beside her, reaching over and brushing her hair with is fingers, "Rhyme, listen. I'm real sorry, yo. I jus'…I worry 'bout ya, Rhyme. Wha' would I do if somethin' happened ta ya? I already los' ya once, Rhyme. I don' wanna loose ya again."

She sniffled and looked up at him, "I'm sorry, too, Beat."

"An' I love my present, yo. It be beautiful," he grinned, fingering the new silver chain around his neck.

She giggled and touched the dragon's eyes, "I thought you would."

(18)

_The dreams are gone,_

_Midnight has come._

_(Angel of Darkness, Alex C. ft. Yasmin K)_

Rhyme could not find it in her to remember her dreams. That had been her entry fee, and, considering she technically had lost, she hadn't gotten them back.

_No substitutions, exchanges, or refunds._

"I suppose," she said aloud to herself, "those were my old dreams. I can always make new ones."

And she tried. She really did. She tried to think that maybe she'd be a teacher, but decided it wasn't for her. Maybe a nurse? Nah, blood made her nauseous.

She remembered that she used to want to be a performer. She didn't know what kind, but she knew she had wanted to perform. She tried to enter her school's drama club, but couldn't get motivated enough to do anything.

Well, that dream belonged to the Reapers now.

"Maybe you should travel," Shiki suggested, "Once you graduate? Chase your dreams instead of letting them come to you."

And Rhyme thought that was the smartest thing the fashionista had ever said.

But, in the meantime, she would need something besides watching Beat to occupy her time. Reading was always fun, but there were only so many books in the library. Music was nice, but you could only own so many CDs before it got ridiculous.

"Why not take up an art of some sort?" Joshua had suggested snidely while they all sat around a table, sipping coffee.

"Yeah!" Beat exclaimed, slapping coffee down on the table, spilling the hot liquid. "Like Phones an' his gra…gra…?"

"Graffiti?" Rhyme finished, pushing napkins towards her brother.

"Tha's the word," he smiled, wiping up his mess.

The young girl smiled and nodded, "Yeah, art."

Surprisingly enough, as somewhere in the back of her mind she had expected this try to fail, she liked art. Painting, drawing. She liked it.

She entered an art class at school to improve. When the teacher mentioned that an art school down the street had four student openings for the next school year, she decided maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to apply.

"Ya' gon' do great, Rhyme!" Beat cheered, giving her a big thumbs up when she went to hand in her application.

The letter telling her of her acceptance arrived at their house a month later. When she saw the envelope on the kitchen table, she gasped. Holding it in her hands, she realized it was already open. _Oh, no._

All was calm, though. But there's always quiet before a storm. That night at dinner, sitting across from her brother, she almost dropped her chopsticks when her mother commented, "So what's this school of art about, Raimu?"

"Um, I…um, you see, I…"

"Rhyme been applyin' ta this art school 'cause she be mad good at it," Beat smiled over at his sister proudly. "It's 'er dream."

"Really now?" their father set down his chopsticks and lead forward, chin resting on top of intertwined fingers. "Tell us more."

"At school, she in this art class an' the teacher thinks she's real good, yo." Beat paused a moment before adding, "I think so, too."

Their mother snorted, as if Beat thinking was a joke:

"Art? Really?"

"Yes," Rhyme said curtly. "I really like it and I'm good at it. I got accepted into the art school my teacher told me about, for next year. And I want to go."

"But, Raimu," their mother wrinkled her nose, "artists around here have such a sketchy reputation. Like that entire CAT trash everywhere. I wouldn't want people to start thinking badly of you, and, in extension, our family."

Rhyme looked down at her hands, biting her lip.

"Yo, if Rhyme wanna do it, let 'er do it," Beat said, setting down his chopsticks. "She ain't sketchy and she's real good at art. Not all artists be trashy."

Their father licked his lips, "I still don't know."

"Well, it's not your decision, is it?" Rhyme asked with sudden venom. "It's my choice if I want to be an artist of not and I want to go there and be an artist, so I will."

Silence engulfed the room. Beat broke it with a radiant, proud smile, saying, "Look at ya, Rhyme. All grownin' up and makin' yo' own decisions! I'm so proud o' ya. Ya gon' be a great artist."

Rhyme smiled. "I suppose…you can go to this school as long as it does reflect poorly upon us," their father finally said.

And Rhyme found her new dream.

**Aaaaand…scene!**

**Hehe. The first one is from Joshua's point of view because I've done one from everyone's but his.**

**I'm sorry if it sucks or if the grammar's bad or whatever. *bows* please forgive me. I tried my best. : )**

**Please review because that let's me know that people are reading. I don't check my "traffic" often, so reviews make the story go on!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Seven chapters in seven days. I think that's a personal record, huh? ; )**

**So…****RANDOM STORY THAT CONNECTS TO THIS! ****Today in American History, my teacher goes "And I'd have mad parties, yo." Me and my friend Jess looked at each other and go, "OMJ! BEAT!" and cracked up. **

**Maybe it's not as funny as it was. *sighs* well, ya had to be there.**

**Sorry if there are mistakes, grammar or otherwise. Like in chapter one, I realized I put **_**I ain't asking again, **_**when Beat actually said **_**I ain't asking twice.**_** SORRY! *bows humbly* Forgive me in advance.**

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(19)

_Angel of Darkness,_

_The world is in your hands_

_But I will fight until the end._

_(Angel of Darkness, Alex C ft. Yasmin K.)_

Excruciating pain. Beat could feel it as he hunched over in pain, curling in on himself. It felt like his back was being cut open, ripping apart.

He wanted to scream. He was biting his lip so hard he could taste coppery blood in his mouth. He was sure he was bleeding. How could he be feeling this much pain and not be bleeding?

Beat remembered how he thought breaking his wrist when he fell off his skateboard a couple years ago had been bad, the worst pain ever. Then he'd lost _her _and his heart had broken. _That_ had been horrible, but not physical.

This, though, _this,_ oh, he could hardly stand the pain. And suddenly he felt his back rip open and his spine crack and he screamed, a loud, ear-piercing yell.

He couldn't take it, falling to the ground. When he finally looked behind him, to see if his back was ripped open, to see the blood, he found only beautiful black Reaper's wings glinting in the sunlight.

The other Reapers around smiled, or smirked, in satisfaction. "Welcome, Daisukenojo Bito," one of them said. They all seemed proud in a way.

The fifteen-year-old wondered if _she _would be proud of him. Or disappointed.

His parents always called him selfish. He knew they would say he was being selfish, a bad person, doing this ofr himself so he wouldn't have to face anything.

But in the end, he was doing this for _her._

Mr. Lolly helped him up, smiling, his bean paste-flavored lollipop hanging out of his mouth. "Well, want a Noise?"

They told him he could have _her _as Noise. He lifted the little pink squirrel in his hands, looking sadly into its blue eyes. He could've sworn it smiled at him. He pressed its furry nose to his and closed his eyes, grinning.

"Heya, Rhyme," he whispered. "How ya doin'?"

The little Noise chattered happily and scrambled up his arm to his shoulder, where it buried its little face into his neck.

Yes, this was all for _her._ For his Rhyme.

**(A/N: I actually think that this song fits better with, like, Joshua, but whatever. I thought it went with the wings.)**

(20)

_Cry some tears of joy,_

_And dress more like a boy_

_(As A Blonde, Selena Gomez)_

**T**hirteen-year-old Rhyme stood in front of her full-length mirror. The new blue shirt her mother had bought her fit so awkwardly. And it wasn't even cute. Did her mother have no sense of what Rhyme would like? She liked the look of her brother's clothes- comfortable, but stylishly edgy.

Reaching for the hem, she whipped it over her head and walked across the hall in her tiny bra. Once she reached Beat's room, with the sign reading _Keep Out_, she pushed on the door and walked in.

**F**ourteen-year-old Beat had just gotten home from the Skate Park. Trudging up the stairs, tired, he saw his bedroom door was open. Eyes widening, he, in a sudden burst of energy, ran up the stairs and into his room.

Nothing was out of place. There was no evidence that anyone had been there.

The boy heard Rhyme giggling from her room. Jumping across the hall, he peered into her room.

Twelve-year-old Rhyme stood in front of her full-length mirror. Beat's T-shirt with the dancing skeleton fit loosely on her small frame. She smiled at her reflection, liking how she looked in her jeans and big tee, and twirled around, hands in the air.

"Ya look good in my clothes, yo," Beat laughed, leaning against her doorframe.

The girl stopped spinning and turned to look at her brother, tugging at the end of the shirt, "Oh, Beat, I-"

He held up his hand, "Its a'ight, Rhyme." He walked over to her and grabbed her beanie, pulling it onto her head, and smiled down at her, "Nex' time, _ask_. Or, betta yet, I'll take ya shoppin'. Kay?"

She grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Okay."

(21)

_I'm sorry_

_It had to be this way_

_(I Won't Apologize, Selena Gomez)_

When Joshua walked up to the group of friends and was grabbed by his ugly shirt and lead away by Beat, Neku was surprised to say the least. Leaving the girls, following behind silently, watched as Beat shoved Joshua against a wall:

"How th' _Hell_ do ya know?"

"Know what, Daisukenojo? Be more specific," the smaller boy was smirking.

That earned the boy another shove from Beat. "How do ya know I kissed Rhyme? Hell, _she_ don' even know!"

Neku raised his eyebrows. What?

"I'm the Composer of Shibuya. I have my way of knowing things."

"Yo' can _not_ tell 'er!" Beat screamed, suddenly looking more frightened than angry. He once again grabbed Joshua's collar.

The Composer smirked: "I didn't plan on it. But it's a nice form of blackmail; don't you agree, Neku, dear?" This sentence made the skater freeze:

"Phones, ya there?"

"Yeah." He came out of his hiding spot.

"Are _yo_' gon' tell Rhyme?"

"No."

Beat nodded, "Okay, so we all good, then?"

The three boys nodded. On the way back to the girls, Neku had to ask:  
"Why _did_ you kiss Rhyme?"

Beat was suddenly flustered, "I...I jus' wanted ta see wha' it would be like."

"Oh."

Finally, they were with the girls again. "What was that about?" Shiki whispered to Neku as Rhyme clung to her brother's arm.

"I'll tell you later."

**T**hat night, Neku's phone went off, a little too late for him to want to answer, but the caller ID said "Shiki" and he knew she'd keep calling until he answered.

"Hello?"

"So...what was it all about? It's been killing me!"

"Oh, um, Beat kissed Rhyme and apparently Joshua knew, but Rhyme didn't know Beat kissed her, and so he was threatening Joshua, so he wouldn't tell her."

All Neku heard was silence. "Shiki?"

"Oh my God, he _kissed_ her?"

"Yeah," Neku replied, yawning.

"But-but-but, they're siblings! And...They...I mean, they sometimes _act_ like a couple, but I never thought..."

Neku chuckled sleepily, "Shiki, they're not, like, _together_. He just kissed her to...he said he wanted to know what it would be like. I don't think it was anything more than that."

And the fashionista began to calm down, "Oh, oh, okay. That's okay, then."

"Yeah. See you tomorrow?"

"Definitely."

Click.

And then it hit Neku. He'd just told his friend's biggest secret to one of the biggest gossips in Shibuya.

(22)

_I don't even_

_Want to be her!_

_(I Won't Apologize, Selena Gomez)_

Beat had a girlfriend.

Rhyme had come home from school one day, holding her new painting tight in her hand, a beautiful field of Sakura trees, to find her brother sitting on the couch with his arm wrapped around some strange girl.

She dropped her bag.

Beat turned and smiled at her over his shoulder, "Hey, Rhyme. Wazzup?"

"Nothing. New painting," she waved the board in her hand, as if that proved everything. "Who's this?"

"I'm Akane," the girl grinned, her red-painted lips contrasting with her white teeth. "You must be the infamous Rhyme."

The younger girl nodded. "Why are you here?"

"Me and Akane be..."

"Dating. We're dating."

_Oh, Joshua, in the UG, help me._

"Oh." Rhyme wanted to go upstairs and not come back down until _that girl_ had left, but she couldn't say no when Beta told her to come watch the movie with them.

After a couple weeks of this, Beat took Akane to meet their friends.

Neku, of course, recognized her.

Joshua noticed the venom-filled glares Rhyme threw at the girl's back. "Someone's jealous," the Composer whispered in the younger girl's ear.

"That's ridiculous. Shut up."

Shiki noticed how Rhyme reached for Beat's hand when they neared the street, but Akane reached for it, grabbing it and pulling the boy ahead, and how Rhyme then stopped and looked both ways, holding her own hand, as they crossed the street.

"I don't like her," the fashionista whispered to Neku.

"Neither does Rhyme," the boy chuckled.

"If you're jealous," they could hear Joshua telling her behind them, "I could get rid of her for you."

"It's fine!" Rhyme insisted. "I don't even want to be her!"

"No, you are you, Raimu, dear, and Beat loves you that way. But that little...I'll say 'slut' to be polite, he doesn't really like her."

"How do you know?"

"I'm the Composer of Shibuya, dear. I see everything. Even things you don't see because you're sleeping. Like a _kiss._"

"A kiss?"

"You still don't know? Well, it's up to Daisukenojo to tell you."

**A **week later, Beat came to the coffee shop with only Rhyme holding onto his arm. And Joshua happened to notice that Akane walked by with a new boyfriend.

**End of this chapter.**

**This one kinda sucks muchly, what whatever. : )**

**I just love the brother/sister cuteness.**

**I have a lot of ideas for these, but I'm waiting to write them. But if you review with a good idea, I'll try to write it in just for you.**


	8. Chapter 8

**My teacher said "Yo" again today.**

**I know the last chapter sucked really bad and I'm so sorry. *Bows***

**I hope this one will be better.**

**If I'm updating on FanFiction, I'm pretty sure I don't own anything.**

(23)

_Whenever, wherever,_

_Baby,_

_You'll protect me no matter what._

_(Protecting Me, Ally & Aj)_

Beat leaned against the brick wall, his tired eyes drooping. He would've been surprised that his Reaper wings didn't feel weird when he leaned against things, but he was too tired to be amazed. He finally closed his eyes.

_So…sleepy…_

Clutching Rhyme's silver pin depicting a flying squirrel in his hand, he focused his energy to call her little Noise. Suddenly, he felt a tingling around the pin and opened his blue eyes slightly.

Sitting on his foot was a little pink squirrel. He smiled and reached out, stroking her soft, silky fur. "Heya, Rhyme."

The Noise shifted and pushed her head into his palm, begging to be petted. He obliged. Her fur was as soft in his fingers as her hair had been. "This whole thing be a new kinda Hell, yo."

The little Noise chattered in agreement and clambered up his arm to perch on his shoulder. It pushed its furry face into his neck and he felt a tiny, wet tongue lick his jaw line, as gentle as the brush of a butterfly wing.

Beat smiled softly. "I miss talkin' ta ya, Rhyme, hearin' yo' voice."

He felt her little claws scratch against his neck as she chattered right into his ear, as if she could understand his words. The boy felt another brief touch of her tongue to his cheek, as if she were trying to console him.

The sound of footsteps made him freeze and he reached for her little body, clutching her tightly to his chest with both hands. His heartbeat sped up as he waited for the footsteps to pass.

Once they did, he sighed and loosened his hold on the Noise. He pulled her up and rubbed his cheek against the soft fur of her head. "I'm always so scared, yo. I'm tired o' bein' scared. But I'ma protect ya, Rhyme. I swear."

(24)

_But you promised her_

_Next time you'll show restraint_

_(Love The Way You Lie, Eminem)_

Looking at the hole in his bedroom wall, Beat tried to control his anger. The last time he'd gotten this angry, he'd disfigured his room. And scared Rhyme half to death, yelling curses and hitting things.

His breathing- or, rather, panting- was shaky and heavy. He gripped the sides of his head. Everything went wrong for him!

"Beat?" he heard Rhyme press her back against the door.

"Go 'way!"

"Beat, please, let me in!"

"GO 'WAY!" he yelled, opening the door. She fell in, landing on her butt hard, gasping. She looked up at his angry face in shock.

She quickly stood up, reaching for him: "Beat…"

He gripped her shoulders and shoved her hard away, "GO 'WAY!"

She stumbled backwards into the opposite wall. She was slightly fearful, but her voice was gentle, calm, "Beat, please…"

She reached for him again, her small hands smoothing over his chest. He grabbed her wrists roughly, pulling her hands off his body. He squeezed as hard as he could, "RHYME, I SAID GO 'WAY, BITC-!"

But then he heard her whimper from the pain and his rage calmed, looking down into her teary and terrified face. "Beat…" she whispered.

He let her go and watched her wince as the blood rushed into her hands. He slumped down to the floor, "Rhyme. Rhyme, I'm…I'm sorry, yo."

The girl rubbed her wrist where he saw slight bruises begin to form, "Its okay, Beat." She knelt beside him, brushing his hair with her fingers. "It's okay."

He rested his head against the wall, "I shouldn' get so mad."

"Maybe…maybe we could get you someone to talk to…like a therapist or something... Do you think that would help?" Rhyme rubbed him arm.

"Nah," he smiled slightly at her, "All I need is yo', Rhyme."

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth for a moment.

Quickly pulling away, he looked anywhere but her.

"What was that?"

"A kiss."

"A kiss?"

"Ta thank ya fo' always bein' there fo' me." He looked at the ceiling.

Rhyme smiled slightly and leaned close, kissing the corner of his mouth, whispering "You're welcome," before standing up and walking into her room, closing the door behind her.

Beat sat there, surprised, for a couple minutes before he smiled and got up, closing the door to his room behind him.

**Since my little sister's being a b-word and I have to get off the computer, END.**

**I hope this was better than the last chapter. If not, I'm so very sorry.**

**I know it's short, but you can thank my sister for that.**

**Next chapter: a game of truth or dare? *raises eyebrows* hmmm?**

**Review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm back. : ) **

**Is this really CHAPTER 9? OH MY JOSHUA, look how far we've come!**

**So…the last couple chapters have sucked and I apologize. And I obviously don't own **_**The World Ends With You.**_

**Major Fluff is here to send a message to all the Fluff fans out there.**

(25)

_She wonders what she did_

_To deserve this…_

_(This is a Call, Thousand Foot Krutch)_

It was strange. Rhyme didn't really think of herself as a girl.

Obviously, she knew she was a girl. It wasn't like she thought she was a boy. But she dressed as one. And her only girlfriend was Shiki. And, as far as she knew, no guy had ever liked her.

So when the Homecoming Dance came up, posters on the walls at school, she pretty much ignored it.

Until he asked her.

Ayumu was a popular boy at her school. He had thick dark hair and piercing green eyes. He went to her school for music. He was just what his name hinted at: a walking dream. Even Shiki, who didn't even go to school with him, liked him.

And he'd asked her. Little, quiet, boyish, lonely Rhyme Bito had been asked to the Homecoming Dance by Ayumu Hikari.

He had smiled charmingly at her, his green eyes twinkling: "So, the Homecoming Dance…Wanna go with me?"

He sounded shy, which was strange, because he was most definitely not shy.

Rhyme had stood there for a moment, mouth open slightly in shock. He'd touched her chin, closing her mouth, smiling, and said: "Will you?"

She nodded and let out a breath, flushing a pretty pink, "Sure."

She'd gone home giddy. A boy liked her! And not just any boy! The most popular boy in her school liked her!

"Why ya smilin' so big?" Beat had asked. Rhyme refused to answer, only saying "no reason…it's a nice day," before going upstairs to call Shiki, the only person she could think of to tell.

"EEK!" the fashionista had squealed. "AYUMU HIKARU ASKED YOU TO HOMECOMING!"

Shiki had taken Rhyme out dress-shopping, dragging Joshua along, seeing as they needed a guy's opinion and Neku would tell Beat, who would freak over Rhyme having a date.

"Wrong," Joshua had lounged outside the dressing room, hating the pink dress Rhyme emerged in. "It's all wrong for you. Try on the black one."

The girl had disappeared behind the curtain as Shiki reprimanded the Composer, "You've said that to every dress so far!"

"What about this one?" the younger girl had stepped out in a strapless dress with edgy black ripped lace covering it, the skirt puffing out, leaving most of her long legs bare. Shiki clapped, squealing, and Joshua seemed shocked for a moment before declaring:

"That's the one."

The day of Homecoming, Rhyme was jittery, in an excited-happy way.

But in math class, her last class of the day, moments before the last bell rang to release them for the day, the girls behind her were squealing about something that made her heart drop.

"Ayumu Hikari? Really?"

"Yes! He asked me right before class! Can you believe it? I'm going to Homecoming with Ayumu!"

"Well, it's to be expected! I mean, you didn't really expect him to go with that Bito girl, did you?" the first girl said. "He asked her as a prank, remember? To see her standing there all alone, believing anyone would like her!"

_BRING!_

Rhyme bolted. Running out the doors to the school, she flew down the stairs, right into Beat's chest, grabbing his hand and tugging him down the street before he could ask "how wa' school?"

As soon as they reached their house, she let go of his hand and locked herself in her room, tears finally leaking from her eyes. She covered her face with her hands, shoulders shaking. How could she believe anyone would ever like her?

Rhyme never thought she'd be crying over a boy. A beautiful sunset, a falling star, striking music, a wish fulfilled, or a dream reached, but never a boy! And there she was, sitting on her bed, her chest tight, feeling betrayed because some stupid boy had tried- and succeeded- to trick her.

"Rhyme?" she heard Beat knock on the door.

Picking up her pillow, suddenly angry, she whipped it at the door. "Go away." Beat was a boy and all boys were stupid and mean and horrible. She covered her face.

"Now, Raimu, dear, what are these tears for?" a voice from beside her made her jump.

Eyes flying open, gasping, she saw Joshua sitting there, legs crossed, phone in hand. "Why do you care?" she hissed.

His eyebrows rose. He reached over and, though she flinched, he wiped away a tear. "Human emotion," the Composer smiled at the tear on his finger, "is such a precious thing."

"Go away."

"Why are you crying? You have the Homecoming Dance soon, do you not?"

"I'm not going. Go away."

"Why aren't you going?"

"Because it was all a joke, okay? The boy that asked me asked me as a joke! A prank! He just wanted to see me humiliated! Happy?" she found herself shouting, hurt replacing anger again.

The boy stood and went to her door, opening it to see Beat leaning against the door, "Daisukenojo, thank you for listening in."

"Rhyme, wha's this 'bout a boy?"

"Some boy asked me to the Homecoming Dance, Beat. But it's okay because it was just a joke. He has a real date. And I'm not going."

He brother sat beside her, gathering her into his arms, her head against his shoulder, "Oh, Rhyme…"

The Composer smiled, "Raimu, dear, would you mind terribly getting dressed?"

"What?"

"Get that dress out. And, Daisukenojo, please come help me."

Beat shrugged and followed the boy out. "You have ten minutes to be dressed before I come in and do it for you," Joshua threatened.

Rhyme was dressed in two minutes.

Suddenly, her door flew open and Shiki came in, pushing Rhyme into a chair and taking out a curling iron and a bag of makeup. "Let's do this."

A half hour later, Rhyme's short blonde hair was perfectly curled, mascara perfectly applied. "I look great, Shiki, but I'm not going to the dance."

"Yes, you are. Now, let's get downstairs, hm?"

The younger girl was led down the staircase. Halfway down, she paused, seeing a wide, strong back in a black suit jacket talking to Joshua and Neku.

The person turned and Rhyme met her brother's blue eyes. He smiled, "Yo, ya look beautiful, Rhyme."

She blushed and, after descending the stairs, looked him up and down, "Beat, what are you…?"

"I'ma take ya to yo' dance," he explained, offering her his hand, "if ya wanna go wit' yo' big brother."

She giggled, smiling, and slipped her smooth, small hand into his large, calloused, scraped one. "I'd be honored."

He grinned widely and pulled her close to his side and, with a quick thank you to her friends, the siblings left.

When they entered the decorated gym, arm in arm, Rhyme automatically spotted Ayumu and his date. Her heart shook and her grip on Beat's arm tightened.

"Wha'?"

"Nothing. That's him," she nodded towards the popular boy.

"Th' boy who asked ya as a joke?"

"Yeah."

The stood in silence for a moment before Beat pulled her towards the dance floor as fats, thumping music played. "Let's fo'get him, yo. Let's have fun."

She allowed him to tug her into the crowd. Once on the dance floor, she lost herself in the music, arms reaching towards the heavens. She felt hands on her hips. Opening her eyes, she saw Beat moving her hips with his hands to the sultry rhythm, pulling her closer and closer.

Soon, she could feel the fabric of his pants rubbing against her bare legs. She rested her hands on his and they moved her hips together, laughing and smiling. "See? Dancin' is fun. Rhyme," Beat leaned down to tell her over the music.

Three or four songs later, Rhyme finding out her brother liked to have another person's body against his when he danced; the girl felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey, Raimu." It was Ayumu. "You look really nice tonight." His date was nowhere to be found. He looked to the built guy behind her. "Who's this?"

"This is my…"

"I'm 'er date, yo," Beat cut in, "and we be havin' a nice time, so go."

"Mind if I have a dance with her?" the smaller boy asked.

Beat pushed Rhyme behind him, stepping closer to Ayumu, staring him down, "Yeah, ac'ually, I _do_ mind. I wan' ya away from us, a'ight? Let me dance wit' my date in peace, yo."

The smaller boy backed away with his hands up. "Okay, man, chill."

"I think he peed himself, Beat. That wasn't very nice," Rhyme said.

"I didn' mean ta be nice," he grabbed her waist and pulled her against him. "Jus' dance wit' me, Rhyme."

She laughed and they danced until the clock said that the dance was over and everyone had to leave. She watched as Ayumu's date went home with another boy and the most popular boy in school stood there alone.

When Beat took her hand and they began to walk home, her head against his bicep, Rhyme realized that she was probably the luckiest girl there.

(26)

_He fights so you won't ignore him,_

_Cause that's his biggest fear._

_(This is a Call, Thousand Foot Krutch)_

"Daisukenojo, I can not_ believe_ you got into another fight!" their mother yelled as she walked her two children to the car, pulling on their arms. It didn't matter to her that they were now thirteen- and fourteen- years-old. They got in trouble like little children and she was going to punish them by treating them as such.

"They was teasin' Rhyme, yo! I ain't gon' let anyone get away wit' tha'!" the young boy protested as their mother opened the back of the car.

"I do _not_ want to hear it!"

Rhyme reached for her big brother's hand, smiling at him: "I thought it was very brave of you, Beat." The slipped into the backseat.

He grinned down at her. "I know that you don't usually start fights, Beat," the girl continued, "but I noticed that, when you do, you don't seem to mind Okaa-san and Otou-san yelling at you."

"They be payin' attention to me, yo," he said. "Why would I mind? Ma and Pops don' pay attention to me any otha time."

"That's not true!"

"Oh, yeah. They see me when I failin', too."

"Beat, they love you!"

"They got a funny way o' showin' it, then," he pouted, looking out the window. Rhyme slid next to her brother and wrapped her arms around his biceps, resting her head on his shoulder:

"Onii-san," she whispered, "I _know_ they love you. Who couldn't love you? They miss us when we're at school, I can tell._ I_ miss you when we're at school."

"Ya miss me?" he turned and looked at her with his pretty blue eyes.

She nodded against his arm, "Yeah. _Aniki inai to samishi ni narimasu._"

He smiled and kissed to top her head, "I miss ya, too, Rhyme."

**(A/N: that little bit of Japanese right there at the end means "I'm lonely without my big brother." X3 I thought it was so cute I had to use it!)**

(27)

_And he loves but he's scared to use it,_

_So he hides behind the music,_

_Cause he likes it that way._

_(This is a Call, Thousand Foot Krutch)_

**T**rains were supposed to be fast, faster than cars. And if a car was fast enough to kill them, Beta figured the train should be fast enough for them to get where they were going without getting bored.

False.

Rhyme was asleep on his shoulder, using him as her personal pillow. Shiki and Neku bickered in the seat in front of them. Joshua slept, laying out, taking up one whole seat by himself.

"Hey, Beat," the sound of Shiki's voice got softer when she realized Rhyme was sleeping, "do you want to play a game?"

"Wha' kinda game?" he whispered, shifting his arm around his sister so they were both more comfortable, her head on his chest.

"Truth or Dare?"

"Okay."

"So…truth or dare?"

"Truth, yo."

The girl smirked and tapped her chin, "Hmmm…are you in love anyone?"

Rhyme flashed in his mind, but he just reached forward, grabbing Neku's headphones, slipping them on and listening to the music: "I don' wanna play no more."

Shiki frowned, pursing her lips, obviously unhappy with his answer.

"I told you it wouldn't be that easy," Neku sang smugly. Shiki dropped beside him, pouting.

"Why can't he admit he loves Rhyme?"

"Because they're brother and sister and he thinks its weird, which it is. And maybe you're wrong and he's not _in love_ with her. Ever think of that?"

**L**ater that night, as the three boys laid in their beds, in their own room, Neku could hear Beat tossing and turning.

"Beat? You alright, there?"

"I can' sleep, yo."

Neku sat up, raising an eyebrow. Beat could fall asleep standing up in the middle of the day. "Why is that?"

"Maybe it's 'cause Rhyme ain't wit' me," the bigger boy mused, shifting under his blankets. "We always sleep t'getha now."

"Really? That's fascinating. Maybe you should go toss and turn in _her_ bed. Or go to sleep here," Joshua rudely commented from under the mountain of blankets the completely buried him.

"Shut up," Neku threw a pillow at him. He turned to Beat, "You sleep together now?"

"Well, we used ta do it sometimes when we was younga, but now every nigh' I crawl in wit' her. Makes me feel safe, y'know? Ta know she's there?"

Neku nodded. "Yeah, I get. Maybe she could sleep in here with you? Would that make you feel better?"

"And while we're at it, why don't we just bring Mrs. Talky-Mc-Talkerson in, too, and all of us can not-sleep together!" Joshua exclaimed in desperation.

"Shut up and go to sleep."

The two other boys watched as the Composer got out of bed and pulled his blankets across the room with him, to the door, "I'm sleeping on the couch."

Once the door was closed again, Beat started shifting in bed.

"Beat?" Neku asked, looking at his friend's antsy form, "why do you _really_ think you can't sleep without Rhyme?"

The moving stopped. "I'm in _deep_, yo," the boy muttered into his pillow.

"Why?"

Beat rolled over and stared at the ceiling: "Cause I think I'm in love wit' my lil' sista, and tha's so_ wrong_."

Neku's eyes widened. "You…you're…in love with her?"

"Maybe."

The smaller boy swallowed. _Holy…_

"Is tha' wrong, Phones?"

"Maybe…to some people, but, I suppose…" what was that saying Shiki always told him? "The heart wants what the heart wants."

He looked over and saw the other boy nod. "Yeah. But. Ya won' tell no one, will ya, Phones? Cause I don' wan nothin' between Rhyme and me to be weird."

"I won't."

"Thanks, yo." Neku watched Beat get up and wrap himself in his blankets:

"Where are you going?"

"I'ma go sleep wit' Rhyme. Otherwise, I be keepin' ya up all nigh'. I'll tell Prissy Boy he can come and sleep in here. Nigh'."

Neku watched him leave and fell back against his pillows. Beat's words went round and round in his head, but he couldn't seem to grasp them. He whispered:

"Beat's in love with Rhyme."

**END THIS CHAPTER!**

**Sooo…did you enjoy the fluffiness? **

**Because I sure did! Hehe. X3**

**Wow, usually I'm on the computer until like…8 working on these. But it's only 6:30! Whoo! Double time! *five second dance party***

**So, with these crazy revelations piling up, what do you think? **


	10. HAPPY Chapter 10

**HAPPY TENTH-CHAPTER-ANNIVERSARY!**

***pops sparkling cider* WHOO-HOO! **

**Sorry if there are mistakes, grammar or otherwise. *bows humbly* Forgive me in advance.**

**This one is kind of like a continuation of the last drabble of the last chapter.**

**After the stunning confession in (27), what do you think will happen next?**

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(28)

_I notice your eyes are always glued to me, _

_keeping them here,_

_and it makes no sense at all…_

_(Crush-crush-crush, Paramore)_

Rhyme sat at the dinner table, her friends surrounding her, Neku's mom at the head of the table. Looking up from her food, she noticed Beat's eyes on her. He blushed and his smile dropped when he realized she had spotted him. She smiled softly to herself and continued eating her ramen.

Rhyme sat on the couch, her head on Beat's chest. She closed her eyes as some people on screen exploded and Joshua cheered. She looked up at her brother and saw his eyes on her. He quickly flickered them back to the screen, but Rhyme had seen him staring at her. She smiled and snuggled closer to him.

Rhyme didn't understand why she kept catching Beat staring at her. And she didn't understand why it made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"Rhyme, you've been quiet all night. What's up?" Shiki said as she brushed her now-long brown hair. She looked at the younger girl in the mirror.

"Have you noticed…anything strange about Beat?"

"Besides him staring at you? No, not really."

"So you've noticed, too?"

Shiki laughed, "Well, yeah, obviously. He's not very sly about it. But, then again, he's done it before, so…Why are you asking?"

Rhyme sighed, twisting her fingers into the bottom on her long T-shirt. "Well, I've noticed Beat watching me. And…"

Shiki sat on the end of Rhyme's bed, leaning forward, "And…?"

"I don't know. It makes me feel all warm inside."

"AW! You so love him!"

"Of course I love him! He's my brother!"  
Shiki smirked, "No, Rhyme. I mean a different kind of love. You're so _in love_ with Beat!"

"No!" Rhyme jumped. "There is no way I'd be in love with Beat! I…that's…it's…"

"True?"

Rhyme was silent. "I…oh, my, I'm in trouble, aren't I, Shiki?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Because what if I'm in love with Beat!"

"Honey, when you are, you'll know. Why don't you do what I do?"

"What's that?"

Shiki laughed, "Kiss another guy. It takes your mind off the one you _might_ like. I do it all the time now."

"Why?"

"Because otherwise, I'd be thinking of Neku _all the time._ And I have more important things to think about."

**A**s Beat walked through the house to the kitchen for a glass of water, he heard people moving about. Wary, glancing around the corner into the kitchen, what he saw made his heart drop.

Rhyme stood with her back against the refrigerator, hands in her hair. Body pressed against hers. Lips on hers. The sound of lips coming together again and again drowned out the sound of his breaking heart. _Crack, crack, crack._

Which boy was it? Neku or Joshua? He peered in to see which boy's ass he would be kicking tomorrow.

Joshua. Joshua, the Composer of Shibuya, who was all too busy to play in the snow or stop checking his phone for two seconds, was in the kitchen, kissing his sister. Rage boiled in Beat's blood.

Isn't that against guy code? Then again, Beat assumed Joshua thought himself above Guy Code as Composer of Shibuya. Oh, yeah? Well, the Composer of Shibuya was going to lose the ability to reproduce once Beat was done with him.

He stalked back upstairs, drink forgotten, and heart-break leaking back into his system. He would only ever be Rhyme's big brother.

**R**hyme broke away from Joshua and he tilted his head to the side. "I thought you wanted to forget onii-san?"

"I…I can't. It's not working. All I can think about is how I kissed Beat that one time and how I miss him and I can't sleep without him and I want to cry," she spoke fast, taking a deep breath afterwards.

"Human emotion is such a precious thing. I wish I possessed more of it," the boy mused. "Feelings like love…I have yet to feel them again."

"That's why I feel sad for you. Because loving someone is such a great feeling, so wonderful, and it makes you feel light and happy…"

"And you're so obviously in love with Daisukenojo that it almost makes me want to push you two together."

"I do not-!"

Joshua patted Rhyme's shoulder, "You'll see eventually…"

(29)

_In the lane,_

_Snow is glistening._

_(Winter Wonderland, Selena Gomez)_

**R**hyme twirled in the yard, head tilted back, catching snowflakes on her tongue. She laughed, a sound that warmed Beat like the sun. He watched her spin around, arms out, looking up to the sky.

"Enjoyin' the snow?" he chuckled.

She stopped and smiled widely at him, "I _love _the snow!"

A snowball hit the back of his head. "Wha?" the boy turned, rubbing the snow from the back of his neck. There was Neku, smirking, another snowball in his hand.

"Phones! Yo' gon' get it now, yo!"

He bent down to make a snowball and a snowball hit his butt. Whipping around, he saw Shiki giggling. "SHIKI!"

"WAR!" Neku laughed, throwing another snowball. Beat was pelted with snowballs by the other two fifteen-year-olds before he had time to make one. He laughed heartily; he was glad he had gone on this trip with his friends.

Suddenly, a force knocked into his side, pushing him into the snow drift. Sitting up, he spat snow out of his mouth and looked for his attacker. Rhyme was beside him in the snow bank, laughing her head off, snow piled on top of her hat. He grinned and tackled her, rolling over and over in the snow.

"You're all acting like children!" Joshua shouted from the porch. His response was a snowball to the face. Sputtering, checking his hot tea for snow chunks, the Composer giggled:

"Neku, dear, you can throw as many snowballs you want at me, but it will never hide the fact you love me!"

He was hit with another snowball.

Rhyme, who now sat on Beat's stomach, looked over at the boy who refused to play in the snow. "Play with us, Joshua!" When he shook his head, she shrugged and returned her attention to Beat, whose hat sat beside his head along with hers, having come off in their struggle, and she smiled at him.

"Ready to give up, onii-san?"

He shook his head and grabbed her tiny shoulders, pinning her to the ground. Neku watched in amusement as his two friends rolled through the snow, smiling as he remembered Beat's secret.

"Look how cute they are," Shiki commented.

"I surrender!" they heard Rhyme call out as Beat tickled her.

The siblings finally got up and Beat helped Rhyme put her hat back on, making sure that no snow touched her pretty little head. He hugged her to his side and they walked to the cabin, smiling and laughing.

"They so love each other," Shiki sighed. "Why won't they admit it?"

Neku kept quiet, smiling a secret smile, and followed them into the house. "You look like you know something, Neku, dear," Joshua commented, which got him a handful of ice shoved down the back of his shirt.

(30)

_It doesn't matter what people say,_

_It doesn't matter how long it takes…_

_(Someone's Watching Over Me, Hilary Duff)_

Beat was surprised when Joshua spiked the juice at a party. The Composer had laughed and thought it was all good fun. And Beat had to admit it was pretty funny to see Shiki stumbling around, holding onto things: "Guys, guys, _guys,_ GUYS, guys, guys, guys,_ guys, _GUYS, guys, _guys,_ guys!" "Neeeekuuuuu!" "LISTEN! GUYS! _Listen._"

But when he remembered he'd gotten Rhyme a glass of juice, his heart stopped. He saw her swaying slightly and knew she was buzzed. And of course innocent, pure Rhyme never thought for a second there could be anything wrong with the juice her big brother had brought her.

He went over to her instantly, grabbing the drink from her hand. "No, Beat!" she pouted. "I want my drink!"

"Rhyme, ya can't drink this, yo."

"But I _want_ it!"

"Rhyme…"

Suddenly, she smiled and reached for his arm, pulling him close, hugging his bicep tightly, "I love you, Beat-chan!"

"Huh?"

"Do you love me?"

He blushed, "What?"

"Do you love me, Beat-chan?"

He stuttered, "Well…I'll always love ya. So let's stay t'getha."

Rhyme smiled widely, leaning forward to kiss his cheek, "I love you, Beat-chan."

"Oh?" he blushed deeply.

She held his face between her little hands and made him look into her eyes:

"I love you, Beat-chan."

He just stared at her, watching her. She leaned forward and kissed his lips gently and Beat had to remind himself that she was drunk, that she didn't know what she was doing. She pulled away and pouted: "You didn't kiss me back, Beat-chan."

"R-R-R-Rhyme, I'm ya brotha. Y-y-ya not supposed ta kiss me."

"But I love you, Beat-chan!"

"Rhyme…"

"Don't you love me?" she looked distressed.

"O' course I love ya, Rhyme. But…well…I'ma ya brotha. I shouldn't love ya like I do, yo," the boy explained, finding it easier to explain his feelings when he knew she wouldn't remember it in the morning.

She smiled at his confession, "Beat-chan loves me."

He nodded, holding her hands to his face, "I do."

She kissed him again and Beat kissed her back. Even though he knew it was wrong and he was taking advantage of her, he also knew he'd never get another chance to do it. Her fingers pushed up under his beanie and knotted into his hair: "Beat…"

He pulled away, making sure she wasn't touching him in any way. "Let's get ya ta bed, Rhyme."

"Okay!" she beamed.

**Y**ears later, Beat was led into a ballroom, fidgeting in his tux. "Wha's this all 'bout, yo?" he looked to his father.

"It's your engagement party, Daisukenojo. Since you refused to go to the marriage meeting, we just set this up."

"ENGAGEMENT PARTY?" the eighteen-year-old stopped. "I ain't doin' this, yo."

"Yes, you are," his mother straightened his tie, "or we'll kick you out and you'll never see Raimu again."

Beat swallowed and allowed his parents to lead him into the ballroom.

A beautiful young girl stood there, long black hair pulled into a bun, big midnight-black eyes, a dress that showed off her curves nicely. "That's your fiancée," his father smirked.

"I'm Aiko," the girl smiled, offering her hand. Beat took it and kissed it as he was expected to. "You must be Daisukenojo."

"Beat," he said stiffly, "I like ta be called Beat, yo."

"Okay, Beat," she giggled. Her laugh sounded nothing like Rhyme's and Beat despised it at once.

Everyone at the party said what a nice couple they would make. How attractive their children would be. Beat wondered how attractive the guests would be if he ollie-d on their faces.

"_Stop the party,_" Beat heard someone's voice over the microphone and he looked up from his shoes. There was Rhyme, standing on the stage in a loose dress that still somehow made her beautiful.

_"I found you, Beat," _she giggled into the microphone.

"Rhyme…" he stood up from his chair.

"_You said you'd be with me forever. If you marry someone else,_" her happy and light tone turned slightly dark and upset, "_I'll never, never, ever forgive you!_"

She jumped down from the stage and made her way over to him. He grabbed her in a hug and smiled down at her. "Yo' crazy."

She giggled and the seventeen-year-old girl hugged him tightly. "You're _mine_, Beat. My big brother. Don't you forget that."

His smile dropped for a moment. Her big brother. Was that all he'd ever be to her? But when she snuggled her face into his chest and he heard the bell around her neck, his smile grew. "I love you, onii-chan," she whispered.

"I love ya, too, Rhyme. More than ya will ever know."

He leaned down, much to every guests' surprise, and captured his sister's lips for what seemed to be the last time. He cupped her cheeks and held her there, kissing her as if his life depended on it, letting her finally know, after all those years, how he felt.

"I love ya so much, Rhyme. Ya never gon' know how much."

He didn't let her reply, but kissed her again. People were whispering, gasping, he could hear them, but he ignored it when Rhyme's arm went around his neck, pulling him closer. He smiled into the kiss as she clutched him closer.

Shiki looked to Neku: "Told you so."

"Yeah, so did Beat," was the boy's response.

**And….is it good enough for my TENTH CHAPTER ANNIVERSARY?**

**Joshua kissing Rhyme was just for my friend Jess-chan. : )**

**I hope that everyone's happy with this because i pretty much am. I'm still going to update every date if I can. I want to get past the 15-chapter mark!**

**A marriage meeting, or **_**miai, **_**is a Japanese custom in which two individuals are formally introduced, in order to determine each other's suitability for marriage.**

**I know some people won't like the romantic Beat/Rhyme, but I really thought hard about this for a few days before I posted it and I thought it could totally happen between them because they are so precious to each other.**

**I hope that you all enjoyed this and I hope that you'll al review! : )**


	11. Chapter 11

**And a very happy birthday to my friend, Ashley, who I like to call Omelet. Seeing a show I **_**suck**_** at picking out birthday presents, this is hers. **

**Happy Birthday, Ashley! I love you! You've been my friend for a couple years now and I am so happy I have you in my life. Who else could make me laugh until I have an asthma attack in the middle of the mall? No one! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! X3**

**So, if you didn't like Chapter Ten, I'm so very sorry. I liked it, but for some reason I think I liked chapter 9 better. I don't know?**

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(31)

_Don't wait or say a single vow  
You need to hear me out and they said speak now_

_(Speak Now, Taylor Swift)_

Seventeen-year-old Rhyme stood behind a beautiful girl with dark hair. She held a bouquet of daises and lilies in her hands, biting her lip. She hated the pink, too-short-to-be-a-bridesmaid's-more-like-a-hooker's dress that clung to her small body.

"And do you, Aiko, take Daisukenojo Bito as your lawfully wedded husband? To have an to hold? Yadda, yadda, yadda," Rhyme stopped paying attention to what the priest was saying, looking around at the guests.

Everyone had been appalled, to say the least, at Beat's "display of affection" during his engagement party. Her parents had played it off as "Daisukenojo is…impaired at expressing his feelings. He just showed Raimu how much he loved his _little sister_ in that adorable _brother-sister_ way by expressing himself in the only way he knew how. It didn't mean anything, I assure you."

"Yes," Aiko giggled, smiling sweetly at Beat.

"And do you, Daisukenojo Bito, take the lovely Aiko as your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold? To love and to cherish? In sickness and in health? For richer or poorer?"

Rhyme held her breath at her brother caught her eyes, staring at her sadly. Then, he looked to their parents, who raised their eyebrows. "Ya, ya, I do," the boy said.

"If there are any who have a reason these two should not be together, speak now or forever hold your peace."

There was a silence and Rhyme dropped the bouquet to the floor, her hands shaking. "I object," she said quietly, then, with more fervor: _"I object!"_

People's eyes widened, their mother gasped.

The priest sputtered: "In…in all my…in all my years…I have _never_ had someone actually object!"

"I'm sorry Okaa-san, Otou-san! But, Beat," Rhyme pushed past Aiko to clutch her brother's jacket lapel's, "You _can't_ marry her, Onii-san!"

"RAIMU BITO!" their mother stood from her chair. "You stop this nonsense _now!_ This isn't like you!"

"I wouldn't do this, but, Beat, you're not the kind of boy who should be marrying the wrong girl!" Rhyme clutched at her brother's jacket.

"Then who, pray tell, should he marry?" Aiko's mother stood, hands on her hips.

Rhyme looked imploringly at Beat. "Who shoul' I marry, yo?" he whispered, touching her face. "I'm supposed ta marry Aiko, Rhyme."

"Me," she whispered before pulling him down and crashing their lips together. Several more people gasped as Beat's arms wrapped around his sister, one big hand coming up to tangle into her short blonde hair, and the young girl pulled her brother closer, his jacket lapels fisted in her little hands.

"Raimu!" Her father grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back. "What are you doing, young lady? This is so wrong!"

"Love isn't an opinion," the young girl told her father defiantly, wrenching herself out of his grasp. She reached out and hugged her arms around Beat's strong waist, leaning her head on his chest. "And I love my onii-san."

(32)

_You made a rebel of_

_A careless man's careful daughter_

_(Mine, Taylor Swift)_

Rhyme was devastated, to say the least, when Beat actually ran away. He refused to come home, sleeping a Neku's every night. He was done, he said, done with the pressure from his parents.

And that was fine with their parents. One less person to feed, one less person to worry about. "Now that he's gone, Raimu, we don't want you having any contact with Daisukenojo. Alright?"

But Rhyme was devastated, shaking in bed as she lay there alone, not sleeping. She eventually fell asleep at her easel at school, face smearing the beautifully, freshly painted picture.

Finally, the fifteen-year-old girl went to Neku's apartment in tears, smiling as she saw her brother, throwing herself into his arms. "Beat!"

He hugged her back hesitantly. "Wha's wrong, Rhyme?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong? You're not living at home, that's what's wrong!" the girl shouted, pushing herself away from him. "I'm all alone all the time! I can't sleep because you're not there!"

"Rhyme…" the boy touched her cheek.

She slapped his hand away, "I hate you for leaving! I hate that you left me all alone! I hate that okka-san and otou-san are happy about it! I hate that you're so calm and happy here when I'm freaking out! I hate you! And do you want to know the worst part? I hate myself for hating you!"

"Rhyme…"

"No! Don't touch me!"

"Wha' do ya wan' me ta do?"

"Come home, damn it! Or tell me why you won't come home! Even for me? Or figure out something so that I'm not all alone!"

He crushed her to him, resting his cheek in her hair. "Rhyme, I jus' can't take Ma and Pops anymore, yo! Me not comin' home has nothin' ta do wit' ya."

"You left me," she whimpered into his chest.

"Nah. I left Ma and Pops. Not ya. I'd never leave ya, yo."

"But you did. You're not there to sleep with me at night. You're not there to pick me up from school. You don't take me to the Skate Park. You have nothing to do with me!" She looked up at him with tears running down her doll-like face.

"I thought ya'd be asha…asham…"

"Ashamed?" she finished for him, wiping her tears away with her knuckles.

"Yeah. I thought ya'd be ashamed o' me, pretty much droppin' out o' school an' all. Yo' so smart an' talented, Rhyme, an' I ain't."

"I could help you with school, Beat. I'll do _anything_ to have you back."

"I ain't comin' home, Rhyme. Ma and Pops don' wan' me back, anyways."

"Then what am I going to do?"

Beat licked his lips, "Rhyme, how 'bout we jus'….jus'…how 'bout I sneak over an' sleep wit' ya every nigh'? Or we find ways ta spend time toge'ha?"

She smiled up at him, "I'd like that, Beat."

And, against their parents' will, the two saw each other. They would meet at the Skate Park or with their other friends. "You two are such rebels," Shiki joked, cuddling Mr. Mew to her chest.

But he commented made Beat realize what a rebellious young girl he'd turned Rhyme into. She was happy to break rules and molds if it meant she could be happy. Like with the art school. Now with him.

His arm was slung around her shoulders; the girl snuggled into his chest, almost asleep. "Beat?"

"Hm?"

"Please don't let anyone take you away from me."

"I won'. I'm yo's, Rhyme," he kissed her hair.

She lifted her sleepy self and whispered in his ear:

"You are the best thing that's ever been mine."

**Short, short, short, I know! ****Only three pages long! : ( And I'm so very sorry, but it's Friday night and I might actually have plans! *gasp***

***sad sigh* Beat and Rhyme will have to wait… (hehe. No they won't. I'll so be thinking about them even while I'm out. That's how obsessive I am.)**

**So, despite its shortness, is this chapter good? Because I really like it. It may not be perfect, but I enjoy it.**

**I love more-defiant Rhyme, don't you?**

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ASHLEY-OMELET! **


	12. Chapter 12

**I am so sorry for not updating yesterday, but I had a lot going on. **

**Here's chapter 12. 12 chapters in 13 days sounds pretty good to me.**

**If you re-arrange the letters in Joshua's real name, Yoshiya, take out the "O" and add a "B", it spells Shibuya! *excitement***

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(33)

_I'm sorry for changing,_

_I'm sorry it had to be this way._

_(I Won't Apologize, Selena Gomez)_

Sixteen-year-old Rhyme stood facing a brick wall covered in CAT's graffiti. "It's nice, isn't it, Raimu, dear?"

She turned and smiled. "You haven't been around much, Joshua." He nodded, hands in his pockets.

"Been busy. The work of a Composer is never done…while there's a Game, at least. And the Noise like the melancholy that seems to follow me around like a bad stench, so I'm busy making them leave me, and the people I'm with, alone."

"Yeah, I can see them," she said, making the still-fifteen-year-old boy look up. "They're not too close, but they follow you."

"You can see the UG?"

She nodded.

"All of a sudden?" he asked.

"Well, since the end of the Game."

He furrowed his eyebrows, "So it's been years? Why did you never tell me?"

"I didn't think it was a big deal."

He turned and grabbed her shoulders. Even though she was technically older than him now, she was still petite and little, so he had to look down to see into her eyes. "This is very rare, Raimu. Most simple mortals cannot see the UG. The ones the can usually end up like me, a Reaper or Composer."

"Oh," she sighed. "Then…what? What do I do? I would love to help all the souls in Shibuya, but I don't think I want to be a Reaper."

Joshua smiled, "You would make a very good Composer, Raimu, dear. If I ever feel like leaving this life, I would gladly choose you to be the next Composer of Shibuya."

"Joshua!" she shook out of his grasp. "I could never be Composer! Never growing up! Never having real emotions! Never being able to truly connect with my friends! Lying to my friends!"

"Friends? I think this is mostly about Daisukenojo," Joshua smirked.

"what? Well, of course, Beat is _part_ of it. But-!"

"You'd miss him. You want to _connect_ with him. You don't want to lie to him."

"Okay, fine. It's mostly about Beat. I could never live without him."

**A**bout a year later, a two gun shots sounded. One, fired by Mr. H. at the Skate Park, hit Rhyme in the back.

The other, fired a mile or two away, smashed its way through the Composer of Shibuya's skull. This trigger was pulled by Joshua.

_"Raimu "Rhyme" Bito, aged seventeen, was shot in the Skate Park while she watched her older brother, Daisukenojo "Beat" Bito skate. No suspect has been found. No comment from witnesses or family is available. Though the girl did not die, she was seriously injured."_

What the newspaper didn't publish, and didn't know, was that Raimu "Rhyme" Bito was carried away by her attacker, followed by her shouting brother, to WildKat, where the bleeding and broken body of the previous Composer of Shibuya lay.

**T**hat very same month, in the light of day, Rhyme sat with her brother's arm around her.

"Everything is different now, isn't it?" she whispered.

She felt him shrug. "Maybe," he said, "Ya Composer now, ain't ya?"

"Yeah," she sighed, burying her face in his neck, "I didn't ever want to be Composer, Beat."

"I know. Prissy Boy jus' thought ya'd be a good Composer. And ya will be, yo. Yo' be the best Composer Shibuya ever seen!"

_Rhyme Bito, aged seventeen, has been seventeen for the last three years._

….

**(A/N: Sike! Every word of that except for MAYBE Joshua dying was FALSE. It would explain why he wasn't at Beat's wedding or engagement party.)**

**And this is all I can do, seeing as how I'm being ordered off the computer. I'm so sorry it's so short. Forgive me. *bows***


	13. Chapter 13

**And the last chapter positively SUCKED. And I apologize! *bows* I am so very sorry for the suckiness of the last chapter. **

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(34)

_Does he do all these things?_

_Like I used to?  
(Like We Used To, A Rocket to the Moon)_

**B**eat looked up as his mother called him. "Daisukenojo!"

"Comin', Ma!" he jumped up, brushing sand from his uniform, running towards his mother. "Yeah?"

"I just wanted to make sure I knew where you were. Have you seen your sister?"

"She's ova there, Ma," he pointed to his little sister, hair in pigtails, waiting for a turn on the swings.

The little girl turned then and smiled when she caught her brother's eye, showing her missing teeth. "Onii-chan!" she ran over. "Onni-chan! I want to go on the swings!"

He grinned and took her little hand, leading her to the swings. He looked at the boys on them. "My sista wan's ta go on th' swings. Let 'er on."

The boy stopped swinging, his feet bringing up dirt as they drug across the ground. He glared at Beat: "Make me."

"I don' wan' figh' ya," Beat sighed as he pulled the red ascot from his neck, dropiing it into his little sister's tiny hands.

"You don't want to fight me?" the other boy laughed with his friends.

He stopped laughing when Beat socked him in the nose. The boy's hand flew up to his face, clutching his nose, blood flowing from between his fingers.

"I'll tell my father!" the boy yelled as he and his friends ran away.

Beat waved at them. Turning to his sister, he smiled and grabbed the chains of the swing, holding it steady for her to climb on. "Here ya go, Rhyme," he said.

She climbed on and he began to push her, back and forth, back and forth. "Higher!" she cried.

"Hold on!" he yelled, pushing her forward and running under the swing.

Her laugh pierced the air, making some adults in the area turn their heads.

** B**eat watched his sister play in the rain. She ran around and around, costume fairy wings on her back, spinning, her rain boots splashing in puddles, and she laughed.

"We're chasing stars to lose our shadow! Peter Pan and Wendy turned out fine! So won't you fly with me?" the girl cried, giggled, singing to the heavens.

He laughed, running out into the rain form their front porch. Grabbing her hands, he began to spin with her, singing along:

"It's you and me, forever! It's you and me, right now! That'd be alright! Be alright! We're chasing stars to lose our shadow! Peter Pan and Wendy turned out fine! So won't you fly with me?"

They spun until they were dizzy, letting go of each other's hands, falling backwards, landing in puddles, soaking their uniforms, laughing.

"You two! Get in here! You'll catch a cold!" their father called from the door.

They only laughed.

(35)

_She can feel my heart,_

_Fell asleep to its beat…_

_(Like We Used To, A Rocket to the Moon)_

Staring up at the ceiling, Beat ran his fingers through his sister's hair. She slept soundly on his chest. He could feel her soft, even breaths against his bare skin.

He felt her squirm, her body moving closer to his. He sighed, closing his eyes. The young thirteen-year-old boy wasn't as built as he soon would be, so her arms fit around his body nicely.

"No, please," she whispered in her sleep. "Please, I don't want to do. No, don't-!"

He didn't know how to react. Was she dreaming about someone killing her? He tightened his arms around her.

"No, not Beat-!"

She kept squirming and soon he was looking into her wide-awake blue eyes. "Beat?" she questioned, biting her lip.

"Ya a'ight, Rhyme?"

"Oh, good, you're alive."

"Wha' was tha'?"

She sighed, resting her head back on his chest, over his heart, "Nothing. I just had a bad dream. We got hit by a car. Well, I was about to and you jumped out in front of me. And then we both died."

"Bad dream, yo."

She nodded, "Can you sing to me, Beat? Make the bad dream go away?"

"I'm miles from where you are. I lay down on the cold ground and I pray that something picks me up and sets me down in your warm arms," he sang again and again, the song soft and sweet.

When he finally felt her breathing become soft and even against his skin again, he closed his eyes and sighed, finally falling asleep. "Nigh', Rhyme."

**And, once again, I know its' super-short, only two pages, but I have to practice piano! I'll try to do better next time! I swear!**

**Oh, by the way: ****Last night I was watching Final Fantasy: Advent Children. One of my favorite parts was Denzel running at the enemy yelling "you son of BIIIIIIIIIITCH!"**

**I thought it was hilarious. Don't ask why. I don't know. Maybe because, either way, he wouldn't have been able to do anything but yell at the monster. Whatever. **

**Peace, Love, and Reveiws!**


	14. Chapter 14

**The last couple chapters have been bad. And I am very sorry. I'm trying to be better, but I'm having trouble with ideas and I'm kinda short on time these days. Please forgive me. *bows***

**I'm writing drabbles to "preview" my friend's upcoming story. And I'm writing another story for my friend Ashley (in which Neku, Sora, Roxas, and Ventus are brothers, with Cloud as their father). So my writing focus is a little crazy right now. **

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(36)

_Wasn't it beautiful w__hen you believed in everything?_

_And everybody believed in you?_

_(Still an Innocent, Taylor Swift)_

Little six-year-old Beat's chubby legs swung back and forth as he colored a picture for his father. The boy loved drawing pictures for people. His teacher had them taped around her desk.

The door to the classroom opened and in came Mr. Bito, carrying five-year-old Rhyme with one arm. "Daisukenojo!" he smiled as his boy ran to him, throwing his arms around his father's legs.

"Pop!"

"Onii-san! Onii-san!" Rhyme chanted, giggling, hitting her father's shoulder in her child-like excitement.

"Ready to go home, Daisukenojo?"

"Ya bet, _Jijii_!" his eyes shone as he smiled at his father, his drawing crinkling in his chubby palm. **(a/n: according to , **_**jijii**_** means "old guy" and is a term used in referring to fathers.)**

Mr. Bito grabbed his boy's bag, slinging it over his shoulder. "See ya, Sensei!" Beat waved to his teacher.

As his father buckled him into his car seat, the young boy held out his picture. "Pop, I drew ya this!"

The older man took the crinkled paper and inspected the drawing, in which he roughly saw what he assumed to be a man and his son holding hands. "It's beautiful, Daisukenojo," he touched his son's hair, "you're going to go very far in life."

Beat smiled widely at his father as Rhyme clapped beside him, giggling: "Onii-san is smart!"

"Thanks, Pop," he said when his father climbed into the driver's seat.

**S**even year old Beat lay in bed, covers up to his chin, glancing around at the shadows. It was his first night without his teddy-bear-shaped nightlight. He held his breath as he heard something in his room move.

He let it out when he realized it had been his foot.

"Yo' brave, Daisukenojo," he whispered to himself. "The dark ain't nothin' to be scared o'."

His eyes snapped to his closet. What was that? He could've sworn he'd heard something move in there. There was something in there! It had to be a monster!

He lied very still. _If I lay real still, yo,_ he thought, _the monster in my closet won' kill me._

There it was again. Something was in his closet! _Don' move a muscle! Don' even breathe, yo._

But he couldn't help it. "MOOOOOOM!"

Once his door opened and his mother flicked on the lights, he reached for her. "What is it, Daisukenojo?"

"There's a monster in my closet, yo!"

She smiled, "Oh is there now? Well, Teddy Bear, if you ask the fairies to keep you safe, they'll make the monsters go away."

"Really?"

"Yes. Now, what kind of monster do you think it is?"

"Maybe an _oni-ni-kanabō_?" the young boy asked as they sat back on his bed.

"An Oni with an iron club?" the young mother gasped. He nodded vigorously. "Well, then we _must _get rid of it!"

He nodded again, "But…how?"

"Let's ask for a _Yosei _to come and protect you."

"And then?"

"Then we'll ask the Baku to devour your nightmares."

The boy smiled, "Okay."

He closed his eyes and heard his mother whisper the little favors before leaving the room. He could swear he felt the presence of the creatures protecting him. "Please keep me safe," he whispered, "Thanks, yo."

He fell asleep, safe and sound.

**But**, now, Beat is much too old to believe in fairy tales. There is no Oni in his closet. The fairies are not going to protect him. The Baku will not take away his nightmares of the Reaper's Game.

Now, his father will not be happy with barely legible work. His teachers will not post crudely done work around their desks.

"You'll go far in life" has turned into "what are you doing with your life" and "you will never go anywhere, Daisukenojo".

Beat is no longer a young child with the whole world before him. He is, at fifteen, a decided failure. He will not go anywhere. Nothing good will come to him.

But he already has something good in his life, the thing that makes him want to go places, the thing that made him want to be better.

That thing- or, rather, person- runs her fingers through his short hair.

"Beat," she whispers, her lips at his ear, her warm breath against his skin making him shiver, "are you okay?"

He nods, keeping his eyes, wishing he could be more with her.

"Beat," she whispers again and he can feel her fingers scraping his scalp and it feels so good, so soothing, "its okay to feel scared."

And he is. He's scared that he'll fail out of school and she'll never be proud of him again. He's scared his parents will throw him out. He's scared something bad will happen- like that car- and he'll never see her again. He's scared that the feeling she gives him will overwhelm him.

He opens his eyes and looks up her, her blue eyes- so like his- staring down into his. Beat leans up and his lips connect with hers- _again. _He's done this twice before and she doesn't know it. She thinks it's only happened once, but he knows and he knows how good it feels to let his feelings out and let her know how much he cares.

"Beat," she whispers against his lips, her fingers trailing over his cheek, "It's alright to feel overwhelmed."

He is overwhelmed. He can feel her soft lips brushing against his _just barely,_ like the brief touch of a butterfly's wing. He can feel her hot breath against his face. He wants her and he is overwhelmed.

He kisses her again, his big fingers slipping into her silky, short blonde hair- so like his- to keep her from pulling away. He keeps kissing her soft and gentle, knowing its wrong and not caring because it feels so right.

He lets go of her, looking into her blue, blue eyes- so like his- and bites his lip.

"Rhyme…" he trails his fingers across his sister's soft cheek.

"Beat," she whispers, smiling down at him, "its okay to feel."

He smiles, because he does feel, he feels so much for her. He feels so much he can hardly contain it and when he can't hold it in any longer, he shows her and they go back to how they were before, like it never happened.

He does feel, he feels for her- but he doesn't know how she feels for him. And that's what makes it hard.

She leans down and kisses his nose, making him chuckle slightly, and says, "Go to sleep, onii-san."

So he closes his eyes again and falls into a blissful sleep.

There is no monster in his closet to keep him up. There is no picture of his father to think about: he already found it in the trash.

There is only Rhyme and her fingers in his hair.

**And…end this chapter? My little sister needs the computer for homework **_**again. ***_**ANGRY SIGH* will she ever give me my computer time?**

**Oh, well, please review? I actually really like this.**


	15. Chapter 15

**I'm trying my hardest!**

**I'm writing drabbles to "preview" my friend's upcoming story. And I'm writing another story for my friend Ashley (in which Neku, Sora, Roxas, and Ventus are brothers, with Cloud as their father). So my writing focus is a little crazy right now. **

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

**Oh, and my friend thinks Joshua isn't fruity enough in these. I will try my best to make him giggly.**

(37)

_And the peace that you bring_

_Just lifts me up._

_(Sun__-kiss Drop, Jun)_

_Okay, 'Tom wen' to th' market and bough' fifty watermelons'. Wha? Wha' did he need fifty watermelons fo'?_

Joshua liked reading Beat's thoughts. Despite the initial loss of a few IQ points, it was amusing.

_Maybe I shoul' ask Rhyme to help me….Nah. I got this. Yo' can do it!_

The Composer of Shibuya giggled out loud, making the others in the room (minus Beat, who was concentrating so hard on his math textbook, he probably wouldn't notice much else) turn and look at him.

Joshua smiled at them. They all turned back to Neku's home videos, which Shiki had insisted on them watching. The gray-haired boy had to admit, watching videos of Neku in the bath tub was _so_ worth the trip over here, but he found himself drawn into the others' thoughts.

_Oh, Neku was so_ _cute!_ Oh, that was definitely part of Shiki's million-track mind.

_I'__m going to die. I'm going to die. I can feel it. I wonder if you can die form sheer embarrassment._ Oh, was Neku dear embarrassed?

_WHY DOES THIS GUY NEED FIFTY WATERMELONS, YO?_

Well, that was all Beat's one-track mind seemed able to focus on.

_I wonder if Beat needs help with his work. I know he can do it. He just needs to try. But…it wouldn't hurt to help him…just a bit?_ Oh, was dear Raimu thinking only of her brother?

Rhyme's thoughts were always soothing and calm, just like she was. Joshua realized he had never seen her riled up. Skimming through the girl's thoughts, he couldn't find one angry feeling. How disappointing.

_WHO THE HELL NEEDS FITFY FRICKIN' WATERMELONS?_

"Your brother," the Composer whispered to Rhyme, "is pretty stupid, you know?"

He heard her gasp and suddenly there was something like a _SMAP! _sound and his cheek was stinging. Looking up at the slight shadow over him, he saw Rhyme's face scrunched up in anger.

"How- how- how _dare_ you?" the girl whispered threateningly. She wasn't yelling, and yet her harsh whisper made his stomach shake in slight fear.

Wait. He was the Composer of Shibuya. He should _not_ be scared of a four foot eleven little girl who couldn't do more than slap him again.

But, with the way her eyes were wide, yet still slanted in anger, he was.

"Beat is _not_ stupid! He's just…just…he's…he's…academically challenged."

"_Academically challenged_, Raimu, dear?" he couldn't help but giggle.

"Yo, Rhyme, um, can you…help me?" the boy they were talking about asked sheepishly from the table.

She straightened her back, smiling, and said, "Sure." Going over to her brother, she stood behind the older boy's chair and wrapped her arms around his neck, chin on his shoulder, and whispered help in his ear.

Over Beat's shoulder, Rhyme shot Joshua a dirty look.

_Oooh_, he was shaking in his designer shoes.

Looking down, he realized he was.

(38)

_So send me your love tonight_

_And I will hold it tight_

_(Sun-kiss Drop, Jun)_

"I just _love love love _the beach!" Shiki squealed, dropping her towel and Mr. Mew onto the warm, golden sand.

Neku chuckled, running a hand through his hair as he dropped his headphones beside her things, "Yeah, we can tell."

"Joshua, I cannot _believe_ you have a beach house!" Shiki ran over and hugged the Composer of Shibuya. His face scrunched up as he shook her off:

"Well, you don't expect me to stay in Shibuya _all_ the time, do you, Shiki, dear?"

The excited girl bounced away, over to Neku, undoing the buttons on his shirt, saying how they just _have_ to go swimming now _now _NOW.

"Beat! Rhyme! Hurry up!" the distressed Neku called out as Shiki pulled the now-shirtless boy to the water.

Joshua turned, smirking at the two, as Beat pulled his shirt over his head, dropping his and his sister's things to the sand. Rhyme was fiddling with the hem of her shirt, the only thing covering her bikini-clad body (_thanks_, Shiki) to the world.

"Raimu, dear," Joshua called. "You'll be too heavy in the water in that shirt. You should take it off. It would be a bother to have to save you from drowning."

"No!" Beat yelled, starling a group of seagulls. "A girl shoul' not show tha' much skin 'til after she's married!"

Rhyme giggled. She reached for her big brother's hand, dragging him towards the water. Joshua watched as if they were an exhibit at a museum.

Beat was so big and muscular. Rhyme was so small and skinny. Beat had huge arms. Rhyme had such skinny, long legs. Rhyme covered up. Beat obviously had no problem showing skin- his bare chest and ridding-pretty low swim trucks made that clear.

They were so different, but were always together. It seemed they could never be apart. "COME ON, JOSH!" Shiki yelled from the water.

He looked away from the siblings splashing each other with water and whipped off his shirt, running towards the waves.

"**L**et's sit around the campfire and sing our campfire song," Neku sang in a nasally voice, making Beat boom with laughter.

"Our c-a-m-p-i-r-e s-o-n-g song," Rhyme giggled.

"And if you think that we can't sing it faster then you're wrong," Shiki waved her fingers to the tune. "But it'll help if you just sing along!"

"Bum, bum, bum!" Beat sang the only part he really knew, his arm around Rhyme's skinny shoulders, pulling her close.

"Urgh!" Joshua covered his ears, falling back onto the sand. "Stop singing! Pleeeease! I beg of you!"

"Fine," Shiki smirked. "We'll play a game."

"What game?" Neku asked. "I'm scared."

"Truth or dare," Shiki grinned like the Cheshire Cat.

"Dun-dun-dun!" Joshua giggled. "So...who wants to go first? Daisukenojo?"

"Don' call me tha'!" Beat pouted, looking away.

"Okay," Shiki clapped, "Beat's first."

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Beat shrugged.

"Ever kissed a girl?"

The three times he had kissed Rhyme before flashed through his mind. He blushed a deep red. "N-no."

"We all know you're lying, Beat," Neku smirked.

Joshua rolled his eyes, "Yes, we all know you've kissed our dear little Raimu!"

Rhyme's mouth fell open and she looked up at Beat, blushing, pulling away from his warmth slightly: "You _told_?"

"Oh, she knows?" Neku raised his eyebrows.

"He didn't exactly tell, Rhyme, dear," Joshua explained. "I kind of saw it."

"What? How?"

"It's very easy for me to see you all when I'm in the UG. And I like to watch you and Beat sleep together in your room."

Rhyme crinkled her eyebrows: "Sleep together?"

"Yes. You know, you both lay in bed…"

The young girl shook her head, "I understand the concept of us sleeping. But…we've never kissed…in my room."

"So you've kissed _more_?" Shiki squealed.

Rhyme buried her face in her hands. "Beat, what is Joshua talking about?"

The boy hesitated: "Rhyme, a-about a week after the Game was all over, we was layin' in bed and you was asleep and…I kissed ya."

"You kissed me?"

"Y-yeah."

"And I didn't know?"

"Nah."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"What an interesting development!" Joshua exclaimed. "Now that we're all out in the open and awkward, how about we get some sleep?"

They all agreed that was for the best. Well, besides Beat and Rhyme, who were meant to share a room.

Beat was hesitant to lay beside her in the cozy bed, afraid she wouldn't want him there. Lifting the blankets, he crawled in. Her back faced him.

Unsure, he reached over, curling his arm around her body, pulling her against his chest. "Are ya mad at me?"

"No."

"Ya sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Rhyme, ya sound mad. Please, don' be mad at me, yo. I jus'…couldn't help myself an'-"

Suddenly, there were warm lips against his. He realized it was Rhyme kissing him and he widened his eyes, staring at her. Her pretty blue eyes were closed, her small hands on his face, holding him there,_ really_ kissing him.

She pulled away, but only slightly, leaving him panting softly. She opened her eyes, tracing her fingers across his cheekbones, and whispered, "I'm not mad at you, Beat."

He only nodded as she rolled over again, pressing her back against his chest. "Good night, Beat."

"Nigh', Rhyme," he kissed her hair. "I love ya."

_I love th' beach,_ he thought before slipping into a pleasant sleep.

**IT'S FRIDAY AND THERE'S NO WHERE TO GO! ANYWHERE IS COOL, BUT WE'RE NOT GOING HOME!**

**Ew, I just quoted **_**miley cyrus **_**AND**_** the jonas brothers.**_** *shivers* sometimes I disgust myself.**

**Haha. So, tonight I actually have plans for once. So this is all I can do for tonight. Did you like it, did you hate it? **

**O.M.J. Wanna hear this? Of course you don't, but I don't care. So, I'm supposed to practice piano for twenty minutes a day. And today, I did. Once I finish and log onto the computer, my daddy goes: "Okay, let's hear some music, Olivia. You need to practice." And when I tried to tell them I already practiced, **_**they didn't believe me!**_** Like, really? Cool. **

**Well, review and make my day. : )**


	16. Chapter 16

**Helooooo, children! ;3**

**I'm writing drabbles to "preview" my friend's upcoming story. And I'm writing another story for my friend Ashley (in which Neku, Sora, Roxas, and Ventus are brothers, with Cloud as their father). So my writing focus is a little crazy right now. **

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(39)

_(wonder girl)_

_Don't say you love me_

_(wonder girl)_

_When you hate yourself_

_(Wonder Girl, Hey Monday)_

_Beep, beep, beep._ The sound of twenty-year-old Beat's phone alerting him to the fact he had a new voicemail woke him up. Rolling over in his bed, he reached blindly for his phone.

Flipping it open, on speaker, he played the voicemail from an unknown number. _"H-hey, Beat,"_ his phone said, the voice coming through the speaker waking him up, _"It's Rhyme. I…I just wanted to say that I love you so very much. … Do you love me? … And only me?"_

The voicemail ended.

"Who was that?" a cold hand trailed down his bare back. Looking over his shoulder, Beat looked at the girl lying there - _what was her name again?_- and closed his phone, putting it back on his bedside table.

"It ain't no one."

Leaning over, he kissed the half-naked girl- _what was her name?_- and she giggled into his mouth: "Beat!"

His face scrunched up in anger as her giggle brought back memories of Rhyme from when they were younger. He kissed the girl -_what the hell was her frickin' name?_- harder, with more feeling.

Her cold hands tangled into his short blonde hair, pulling him towards her. He kissed her neck and she sighed: "Oh, Beat."

The worst part, he could feel it coming on. The worst part- when he starting imagining the nameless girl as Rhyme. Last week, with a different girl, he had made the mistake of moaning out his sister's name.

Needless to say, he had had to find himself a new nameless girl.

When the girl's hands gripped the waistband of his boxers, he froze, hearing Rhyme's voice in his head. _A problem shared is a problem halve, Beat._

What the hell? He had never frozen before.

"Stop," he ordered the nameless girl.

"Huh?"

"Stop," he pulled away, wrapping the sheets around himself like a cape, "don' touch me no more."

"Why?" the girl - _oh, what the hell was her name? She looked like a Bambi or maybe a Brittany. Maybe?_- tilted her head to the side, not covering her mostly exposed body like any normal, modest girl would've. Like Rhyme would've.

"Cause I don' want ya to touch me!"

"Is it because of the voicemail you got?"

_A problem shared is a problem halved, Beat._

"Yeah," he admitted, looking to the picture of himself and Rhyme when they were little children at the park. "Yeah, tha's why."

"The girl?"

"Mmhm," he murmured. "Rhyme. I haven't seen 'er in awhile, yo."

The sheets ruffled as the girl -_I'll call 'er Bambi?-_ came closer to him. "She sadi she loved you."

"Yeah," he sighed.

"Have you known her long?"

"All her life. Since the day she was born."

"Oh, that's cool. Are your families, like, really close or something? How do you know her?"

He turned to her and smirked, knowing his next words would freak her out:

"She's my little sista."

The girls' mouth dropped open slightly. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

"And…you're in love with each other?"

He nodded.

Suddenly, a knock on the door made their heads snap up.

"I'll get it," Beat stand, standing.

"Obviously," I'll-call-her-Bambi rolled her eyes.

When he opened the door to his apartment, he had a small body thrown at him. "Rhyme?" he looked down at the blonde head as arms tightened around his waist.

"Beat! I missed you so much!" the girl was crying, he could tell.

"Why ya cryin'?"

"M-mom and I…g-got in a fight. I wanted t-to come see you and they said I c-c-couldn't."

"Oh, Rhyme, don' fight wit' her over me," he sighed, hugging her close.

"I have to!"

"Why?"

She looked up at him with her shiny, teary blue eyes: "Did you get my voicemail?"

"Y-y-yeah," he stuttered. She smiled and pressed as kiss to his bare chest. Giggling, she questioned, "Why are you almost naked?"

"Beat?" I'll-call-her-Bambi called form his bedroom, "Who was it?"

Rhyme froze in his arms and slowly pushed herself away from him. "Oh, um…"

"Rhyme…"

I'll-call-her-Bambi came out of his bedroom, clad in only her under garments, wrapping Beat's bed sheets around her waist, "Beat? Who was it?"

Rhyme stared, wide-eyed, at the half-naked girl. Beat saw her eyes quickly give I'll-call-her-Bambi a once-over, obviously comparing herself to the older girl with the porn-star body.

"Oh, sorry," Rhyme said in a quiet voice, "I can see you're busy. I'll…go!"

"Rhyme!" Beat reached for her, grabbing her arm as she tried to run out the door. He followed her out into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

It killed him to know that she wouldn't look at him. "Rhyme listen to me…"

"About what? The naked girl in your room?"

He bit his lip, "She ain't naked."

"Was she?"

"…last night," he admitted sheepishly.

Beat watched her shake her head: "Do you love her?"

"No."

"Is she your girlfriend?"

"No."

Rhyme spun on him, "So she's just some whore you picked up off a street corner? God, Beat, I would've expected that from…I don't know, Joshua, but not you!"

He looked at her and saw beyond the angry mask. Rhyme was sad. No, not just sad, heartbroken. She loved him and it broke her heart to know he'd been with other girls.

He reached for her, cupping her cheeks in his hands: "Rhyme…" He leaned down, brushing his nose against hers, closing his eyes. Leaning in closer, about to touch their lips, Beat was shocked when he was pushed away.

Rhyme had tears running down her cheeks, lips trembling, her hands pushing him away. "Don't touch me!"

"Why not?"

His little sister licked her lips, "I don't want to get a disease passed onto me from one of your whores!"

His breath caught in his throat. "Remember my voicemail?" she whispered.

He nodded, "Uh-huh."

"Well, forget it. Delete it. Forget every word I said. … _I hate you!_"

He grabbed her wrists, dragging her towards him: "Don' ya think I hate myself? Everyday, knowing that I think about you when I'm wit' other girls? Knowin' that it'll never actually be you? Don' ya think I jus' want to throw myself in front o' a car cause I ain't-!"

His rant was stopped by Rhyme's lips. "I don' blame ya fo' hatin' me," he whispered when she pulled away.

But she just grabbed his face again and sighed: "I love you. Do you love me? And only me?"

"Only you," he vowed, kissing her.

(40)

_Between the two loves of my life…_

_(You Can Let Go Now Daddy, Crystal Shawanda)_

Eighteen-year-old Beat leaned against the doorframe, watching his father lie in his hospital bed. Rhyme was beside him, her breath shaking rapidly, like she was going to cry.

"Daddy?" she whispered, taking a step forward, letting go of her brother's hand.

"Hello, Raimu, Daisukenojo," their father's gravelly voice croaked.

"Daddy, what's wrong with you?" Rhyme whimpered.

The older man licked his dry lips: "I've been sick for a while, children. Your mother and I didn't want to tell you."

"Tha's why ya were on a business trip for months?" Beat finally spoke, looking up from the floor.

Their father smiled, "Well, Daisukenojo, you clean up nicely. I hope the occasion isn't my death."

That made Rhyme choke loudly on a sob.

"I ain't dressed up fo' _you_. Rhyme and me was goin' ta go ta dinner."

The older man chuckled, "I'm sorry I spoiled your plans." He reached a hand towards Rhyme, beckoning her to him. She leaned into his touch when his cold, thin hand held her cheek. "Raimu, love, you look so beautiful."

"Daddy," she whimpered through her tears. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply:

"I need some sleep. Beat," he said, "will you get the nurse for me?"

The son looked up, eyes wide: "Ya called me Beat."

Never opening his eyes, their father smiled: "I think it suits you as much as your birth name."

Once their father was asleep, Rhyme covered her face and cried into her hands. Beat wrapped his arms around her. The nurse looked sadly at them, "You know, he's only holding on for you two. But I still don't think he'll last much longer. I'm really sorry."

Beat nodded, holding Rhyme's shaking shoulders. He felt her slip away from his grasp, watching as she crawled in next to their father, wrapping her skinny arms around him.

"You can let go now, Daddy. We're ready to this on our own. It's going to be a little bit scary. But we'll be okay now, Daddy. And you can let go," Beat heard her whisper to their father as silent tears rolled down her cheeks.

He know understood why his father had wanted him married. He didn't want to miss something so important in his son's life. The heat-monitor line went straight. Rhyme started crying harder, clutching her father's limp body.

"Rhyme," Beat went up and sat beside her, rubbing her back, "Rhyme, we should go find Ma an' tell 'er."

She nodded, letting Beat pick her up and carry her out of the room. "Bye-bye, Daddy," he heard her whisper, waving over his shoulder.

With her face buried in his neck, Beat could feel her lips kissing the skin of his throat softly. "I love you, Beat."

"I love ya, too."

"If anything like this ever happens, promise you'll tell me?"

He sat down outside their father's room, her in his lap. He rested his forehead against hers: "I promise."

He leaned forward and kissed her lips softly, smiling against her lips when her arms circled his neck and drew him closer.

Someone cleared their throat. They broke apart and looked up at the nurse, who stood with their mother. "Well, Raimu, I suppose we should go home. We'll see you at his funeral, I guess, Daisukenojo," their mother said detachedly.

But Rhyme clutched herself to Beat, "No!"

"Raimu…"

"I don't want to leave him! You can't make me!" "Rhyme," Beat whispered in her ear, "You can let go now, baby. I think I'm ready to do this on my own."

**The last one kind of sucks, but I found it in my mind and I had to write it.**

**Seriously, some one should give me ideas because some of my ideas sound GREAT in my head and suck on paper. So, review! :3**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello again! *waves* how are we all today?**

**So my day has **_**really **_**sucked. (Besides our "crit" in Art class.) So, to make **_**your**_** day better, I'm adding another chapter to this story! :3**

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(41)

_I'll be anything for you_

_(Anything, Evanescence)_

"Are we there yet?" seventeen-year-old Beat complained, feet on the dashboard.

"We'll get there when we get there!" Joshua's driver yelled, gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Beat looked over his shoulder at the four other teens squished into the spacious backseat. His eyes rested on Rhyme: "How yo' doin' back there?"

Neku didn't answer, obviously, because he had his headphones on to block out Joshua and Shiki's incessant babbling. Composer Joshua couldn't bother himself to answer the skater, texting away on his little orange phone. Shiki was looking at herself in her compact mirror, smoothing mascara onto her lashes. Sixteen-year-old Rhyme was the only one to answer: "We're fine, Beat."

Shiki and Joshua had made it their personal goal to dress everyone for this day.

Beat scowled down at his loose plaid pants tucked into black army boots. His black long-sleeved tee and an open zip-up sweatshirt kept him warm in the fall weather. Even though he had complained and whined the whole time he'd been getting "styled", the only thing he had really fought to keep was his hat.

He'd lost.

Joshua was cozy in his warm with turtleneck, wrap-around gray sweater and black jeans. He was especially cozy snuggled in between Neku and Rhyme in the backseat. He consciously brushed his fingers against their knees to see their reactions.

Neku's was to quickly swat the Composer's hand away. Rhyme's was to politely move his hand to his own knee.

Neku had no preference about his outfit. Shiki had dressed his, so it wasn't as if he felt uncomfortable, like he would've in anything Joshua picked for him. He had no problem with the dark pants and dark sweater that hugged his body. He didn't even really mind the plaid sweatshirt wrapped around his waist, nor the light jacket that kept him safe from the cold autumn winds.

The allowed him red colored headphones, _for the car ride only, _they had specified.

Shiki absolutely _loved_ her outfit. Her bright pink leggings matched her bright pink scarf. Her dark brown dress matched her dark brown slouchy boots. Her brown-and-pink zebra print cropped jacket matched…everything!

The only thing she didn't like was her painted-green nails.

And, well, then there was Rhyme. Uncomfortable in her new clothes, Rhyme wasn't sure if she liked her outfit or not. Her plaid skirt matched Beat's pants and her orange leggings disappeared into black slouchy boots that matched Shiki's. A black wrap-around sweater covered her white tee. The cute little orange hat with the kitty-cat ears made her not miss her black skull beanie so much.

She was happy they let her keep her bell necklace on.

Beat smiled at her, showing his teeth, before turning back to face front. "Are we there yet?"

"WE'LL GET THERE WHEN WE GET THERE!"

Once they _finally_ pulled into the amusement park, Beat jumped out of the car so fast he was almost a blur. "Swee', solid land!" he yelled, kissing the ground.

Rhyme laughed, but stopped short when Joshua kicked her brother's butt, pushing his face into the pavement: "Get up, caveman. Or I can put you _in_ the ground."

Rhyme slammed her shoulder against his, shoving past, and sneered over her shoulder as she hooked her arm through Beat's: "Josh, I'm amazed you can walk without a spine."

He pouted, biting his lip, as he watched them walk away with Shiki. Neku clapped him on the shoulder, "Whoa, man. Seeing Rhyme's bad side? Never thought this would happen."

"It only seems to come out when someone insults her _onii-san_."

Neku shrugged, "Hey, you know as well as us what goes on at home. It probably takes its toll on her, and him, people always putting him down."

Joshua nodded, hooking his arm through Neku's. "Well, let's forget all this seriousness and have some fun, Neku, dear!"

"Josh, let me go!" Neku cried as Joshua pulled him through alley after alley of stands and rides.

An hour or two later, the five teens met up again. Rhyme clutched a stuffed pink rabbit, holding it tight to her chest and Shiki held bags of things she'd bought at the many stands. Beat had a huge blue cotton candy, dying his lips and mouth the color of the sweet spun sugar.

"So, Raimu, dear, you won yourself a prize?" Joshua questioned, finally letting go of Neku's arm, holding his own prize to his chest. The purple kitty cat had blue eyes that same pale color as Neku's, which fit, seeing how Neku had won it for him. Well, not for him, but when the prize was handed to the boy, Neku had crinkled his nose and given it to Shibuya's Composer, who had giggled in delight.

The petite girl shook her head, smiling down at the pink bunny in her arms. "No, I didn't win it. Beat won it for me."

"That's so sweet, Daisukenojo."

"It ain't nothin'," the boy ran a hand through his hair. "An' don' call me tha'!"

Joshua giggled, leaning over to peek inside Shiki's bags. "And the multitude of things you've bought, dear…?"

"Are for me!" Shiki squealed, pulling her bags out of his reach. "So, hands off, klepto!"

Holding his hand up like a guilty man and stepping away, Joshua grinned at Neku. "Neku, dear, won me this prize. Wasn't that sweet?" he tweaked Neku's cheek. The other boy hit his hand away.

"Stop touching me!"

Everyone went off in pairs again, Shiki running away alone, longing for more stands. She waved to Joshua and Neku as they went off in one direction, Beat and Rhyme in the other.

Snooping behind the stalls, to better see what was inside, she heard a slight gasp. Looking over, she saw a pair of plaid pants tucked into black army boots.

Nearing the familiar pair of pants, she almost gasped aloud when she saw Beat and Rhyme. The boy had the younger girl against the wall of one of the stalls, kissing her senseless. The girl's fingers were tangled in his hair.

"Beat," the fashionista heard Rhyme sigh softly when her brother broke away from her, "Beat, we should stop."

"I don' wan' ta," was the boy's reply.

"Seriously, Beat, we should stop."

Beat pulled away, face flushed, and looked down at little Rhyme, who was pulling her sweater tighter around her. "Wha's wrong?"

"Too much," she whispered.

He smiled, ruffling her hair, "Too soon?"

She nodded, biting her lip as she looked up at him. "Beat…we're…we're brother and sister. We…we _really_ shouldn't."

"Wha's one o' those quotes yo' always sayin'? Somethin' like 'soul meet soul on ya love's lips' or whatnot."

"'Soul meets soul on lover's lips'," Rhyme quoted. "Percy Bysshe Shelly. Beat, you remembered that?"

"Ya said it befo'. When I tol' ya I loved ya and we kissed. Ya said tha' our souls found each other like in the UG or somethin'," he blushed, looking away.

Shiki mentally _Awww_-ed.

Rhyme flung her arms around Beat's waist. "I can't believe you remember that!" she cried into his chest.

"O' course I 'member it, Rhyme. Ya told me, din' ya?" he hugged her. "Rhyme…ya said our souls are connected. So…why shoul' us bein' brother and sister stop tha'?"

She smiled up at him, "You're so smart, Beat. Much smarter than me."

He chuckled, "Smarter than ya? Ma an' Pops will be excited ta her tha'!"

When they all climbed into the car for the ride back to Joshua's house, Beat sat in the back, as to hold Rhyme against him and let her sleep.

"They so love each other," Shiki whispered to Neku once the siblings were asleep.

"No, really, Shiki, dear?" Joshua commented over his shoulder, smirking. "I hardly noticed."

**This is all I'm doing for tonight, but I hope that you enjoyed it. :3**

**Writing this calmed me down a bit, seeing as how my day was so bad. It feels good, like I can let everything out. Like in Joshua kicking Beat's butt. And Rhyme's comment ("I'm amazed you can walk without a spine"), I've actually said that.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Because I JUST got this idea, I'm adding it to my story. Hope you enjoy.**

**And so I obviously don't own anything. Duh.**

(42)

_She's beautiful as usual  
with bruises on her ego and  
her killer instinct tells her to  
be aware of evil men_

_(Pretty Girl, Sugarcult)_

Rhyme knows not to go near Joshua. Beat has told her the horror stories of what he did to Neku. She knows that when- or, if- he approaches, she should turn coldly away.

But when he comes up to them slowly, hands in his pockets, head bowed, she can practically _see_ his remorse rolling off him. And, despite the urge to run away, she makes a decision.

The Composer of Shibuya is lonely. She can tell. She smiles when he comes up and hops off the bench, extending her hand. "Hi, I'm Rhyme!"

He looks up at her through his silver bangs, head still bowed. He examines her hand as if it's a trap. When he finally reaches for it, Beat is there beside them, catching his hand before his fingers and skim Rhyme's. "Don' ya _dare_ touch her," Beat growls.

He drops the boy's hand and grabs Rhyme, pulling her away. She wants to complain, to tell Beat _it's okay, he won't hurt me_, but she can't because she doesn't know if that's a lie or not.

The look in Joshua's eyes had been curious, but not in a friendly way. No, more in a way that he was curious as to how to best use her to his advantage. And that left Rhyme shaking.

She was not used to people wanting to use her. And she sees that the almighty Composer of Shibuya is lacking one important thing: feeling.

She intertwines her fingers with Beat's and swings their hands back and forth as she contemplates this. This boy in front of her, Joshua, obviously felt something for Neku, if he brought all of them back to life and saved Shibuya.

He took care of things.

After a moment or two of awkward silence, Neku and Joshua deliberately not looking at each other, the Composer bites his lip and turns to Neku: "I'm really sorry, Neku, dear."

"For killing me?"

Lavender eyes close: "…Yeah."

Neku makes a "tsk" noise and shakes his head, turning his pale blue eyes on Joshua. "I don't know if I can forgive you yet."

The silver-haired teen looks towards the ground again. Rhyme watches sadly as Beat rubs her cheek, getting rid of the dirt from the skate park. "You know, Joshua," she says cheerily, "a problem shared is a problem halved. Maybe you should tell us what's _really_ bothering you."

Lavender eyes find her bright blue orbs and stare at her in shock for a moment. But then Joshua sighs and whispers, "I care, okay?"

"I couldn' hear tha', Prissy Boy," Beat spits. "Wha'd ya say?"

"I care, okay?" the smaller boy fumes suddenly, his fists clenched at his sides. "I care. I care about what happens to you, Neku. I care about what happens to your damn friends who I don't even know. I _care_."

Rhyme smiles. So he isn't completely devoid of all feeling. She looks to Neku, whose arm is looped through Shiki's at the moment. He blushes and extends his hand to Joshua:

"Wanna go get some coffee with us?"

As they walk away, towards WildKat, Rhyme sees the orange phone in Joshua's back pocket. She knows he controls all of Shibuya with that phone. With the press of a single button, he could end all their lives.

When Beat grabs her hand at a crosswalk, Rhyme smiles. Joshua may be the evil incarnate Beat described him to be, but when you broke it down, he was proud of his city and he cared about it and the people in it.

Rhyme squeezes beat's hand. No matter what, Composer or not, Joshua would never – could never - destroy all the love.

**Soooo…random? But effective. X3 be happy I did one more tonight, okay? *giggles***


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello again! *waves* how are we all today?**

**What a great month this has been! We have the new Taylor Swift CD "Speak Now" **_**and**_** Vampire Knight Anime Volume 2 (English) DVD! And, less than a week from now, we get a bunch of FREE CANDY! *sigh* oh, good times.**

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(43)

_Now go stand in the corner_

_And think about what you did._

_(Better Than Revenge, Taylor Swift)_

Rhyme could hold her own.

Beat knew this. She looked the other way when the boys in her grade yelled names at her back- "Whore!" "Skank!" That, of course, set Beat's blood boiling, but Rhyme just walked away, a serene smile on her face.

When he asked her why she didn't do anything, she simply answered:

"They don't know me. Let them think what they want."

Beat usually did what she said and ignored them.

Until she dated one of them.

It never occurred to Beat that other guys would go after her. He always knew she was…attractive, but he never knew other guys could see it, too.

He came home to fourteen-year-old Rhyme sitting on the couch with a boy, doing homework. Frowning, he dropped his skateboard and it clattered to the floor.

"Oh!" Rhyme turned around and smiled at her brother, looking beautiful in her school uniform, "What's up, Beat?"

He met the other boy's green eyes and frowned, "Nothin' much, Rhyme. Skatin'. Phones and Prissy Boy ain't much into hangin' 'round the Skate Park, so I came home."

"Joshua would be afraid to muss his hair and Neku would be afraid to crash," Rhyme giggled, tilting her face up as he came towards them, expecting a kiss on the cheek like every day. "But…don't you have other friends who skate?"

He kissed her cheek, glaring at the boy, and pulled away: "Yeah. Well, I guess we both got different friends, yo."

"Oh!" Rhyme seemed to remember the boy was there. "This is Hayate."

This-is-Hayate smiled, "You must be Raimu's brother. She's told me about you."

"He's my…" she trailed off.

"Boyfriend. I'm her boyfriend."

And Beat's heart broke. "A'ight," he nodded, backing away, "S'all cool. I'ma go… do some homework."

He darted up the stairs.

**A** few weeks later, while he was walking by her room, Beat heard someone knock on his bedroom door. Opening it, about to tell the person off, he froze, seeing Rhyme with tears running silently down her cheeks.

"Rhyme?" he had a chance to choke out before her shoulders starting shaking, her body wracked with silent sobs. "Wha's wrong?"

"Hayate…"

"Wha'd he do?"

"He…h-he wanted to…um…" she trailed off, hiccupping.

"He wanted ta wha'?"

She bit her lip, "He wanted us to…um…sleep together. Like…in the sexual sense."

Beat's jaw dropped. Then closed. His eyes narrowed. "And…?"

"Well, he apparently _really_ wanted to, because he was quite persuasive, and, well, then…" Rhyme trailed off, tugging on her beanie, looking down.

"Oh, Rhyme…ew…ya…ya didn'?" he covered his eyes and titled his head towards the ceiling.

She was silent and her breath shook. "No, I didn't," she finally whispered. "I told him I wanted to save that, that I wanted to wait…and he…he broke up with me!"

"Oh," Beat pulled her into a hug. "Don' worry, Rhyme. Beat'll make it all better."

**H**ayate found himself slammed against a locker two days later.

"You wan' mess wit' my sister, huh?" someone's hot breath hit his face. He flinched. The person must've been close.

Opening his eyes, he saw Beat glaring at him. "W-w-wait a second here."

"I ain't waitin' for some frickin' horny kid to explain anythin' when they try to get in my sister's pants. I don' like tha'. No one- an' I mean _no one_- even _thinks_ about touchin' Rhyme. Got it?"

"Y-y-yeah."

"I don' think ya do. I think ya need an example of wha' happens."

And a fist collided with Hayate's nose. He heard a sickening _crunch_ and felt blood gush. But that, apparently, was not enough. Beat's fists continued to pound on the boy again and again, his ribs, his face, every spot Beat could reach.

And, for good measure, Beat kneed the boy in the groin.

Dropping the bruised boy to the ground, Beat growled: "Now go stand in th' corner and think about wha' ya did."

Hayate, shaking and stumbling in pain, crawled into the corner and cowered. "I _said_ stand," Beat ordered. The boy struggled to his feet, wincing at the pain.

After an hour or two of standing there, facing the corner, Hayate glanced behind him. Beat was still there, smirking.

"Ready ta understand now?"

"Yes," Hayate answered, averting his green eyes.

"And ya gon' apologize ta Rhyme?"

"Yes!"

"And ya gon' treat girls _right_?"

"Yes."

"Ya can go," Beat shrugged, walking away. He stopped, calling over his shoulder, "Ya migh' wan' give people reasons ta start fights _after_ ya grow a pair."

**Okay, so this is all I can get out right now! Super sorry about that, but I've been super busy with everything. Like, OMJ, two nights ago I had 2 essays to write, 45 pages of math to do, and 5 book summaries to write. Like, seriously?**

** So, review, please. I will be **_**so**_** happy if anyone does. : )**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hello again! *waves* how are we all today?**

**Happy Halloween! **

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(44)

_It's just wrong enough_

_To make it feel right._

_(Sparks Fly, Taylor Swift)_

There was a point in time when Beat and Rhyme would take baths together. Of course, being so little, only about three and four, it never seemed like a big thing. When he turned seven, Beat didn't understand why he wasn't allowed to take baths with Rhyme anymore.

Over seven years later, Beat was _definitely_ being to realize why they weren't allowed to take baths together. First off, they both didn't exactly fit in the tub together anymore. It was cramped.

Second off…well, there wasn't really another good reason Beat could think of besides the fact that he couldn't stop glancing at his sister's body.

It had been so hot in the city of Shibuya that day. Temperatures hit record highs. And, of course, there was no pool anywhere near the Bito's house. So little, innocent Rhyme came up with the idea to go swimming in the bath tub.

Pulling on his swimming shorts, Beat heard Rhyme turn the cold water on in the tub. Sauntering into the bathroom, he grinned at her bikini-clad back and hugged her from behind. "Ready ta go swimmin'?"

She giggled, "Yeah! It's way too hot in here!"

He picked her up and set her in the cold water before climbing in with her. They took up the whole tub when the held their knees to their chests. "Kinda cramped, eh?" he smirked.

"Just a bit," Rhyme smiled.

They were silent. Beat glanced at his sister, taking in all her bare skin, swallowing. She was cupping water in her hands and pouring it on her hot skin that the tub couldn't reach. He watched the water slide down her neck, down her almost-non-existent-cleavage.

"This…this migh'a been a bad idea," he muttered.

"How so?"

"I ain't really coolin' down."

She tilted her head to the side, "Really? The water's freezing."

"I'm kinda heatin' up."

Her eyebrows furrowed, "Maybe the water's not cold enough. Here, let me…"

She leaned over him, her hand on the knob, making the water cooler. But Beat's face was flushing red, heat rushing to his cheeks. He swallowed and grabbed her wrist.

"It ain't the water, Rhyme. It's…it's yo'," he whispered before catching her lips. He let go of her wrist and wrapped his arms around her waist, on hand trailing up her bare spine to tangle in her short hair.

He felt her hands rest on his chest, pushing herself above him, kissing him back.

"When do Ma an' Pops come home?" he panted, pulling away.

"In about an hour. Why?" she whispered, watching as he closed his eyes and pulled her face back to his.

"Cool." He kissed her again.

He knew he shouldn't be doing this. It was sick, always taking advantage of her like this. He knew she was confused about these feelings she should have for someone other than her brother. He knew she didn't think any of it would work out, but if felt so damn right, even though they both knew it was so wrong, that he didn't think they would ever stop.

Hm, fancy that. Beat thinking.

(45**) ~~this one ****may or may not**** end my series completely. It's my idea how to end this since marriage of siblings is illegal just about everywhere, including Japan. But, if the majority doesn't like it, I'll continue on with more drabbles. : )~~**

_The girl in the dress_

_Cried the whole way home._

_(Dear John, Taylor Swift)_

Rhyme watched the scenery roll by as the car drove through the rainy streets. Her forehead rested against the cold window. A crystal tear rolled down her cheek.

A hand on her knee made her lift her head. A pale finger wiped the tear from her cheek. "Are you alright?"

"I don't think I'll ever be alright again."

"If it makes you feel any better," Joshua said, rubbing the tear between his thumb and pointer fingers, "black looks good on you."

Rhyme laughed, but it was a spiteful, sad laugh. More tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Come now, dear. Daisukenojo wouldn't want you to cry so much."

"Yeah, well, Beat's not here, is he?"

Joshua sighed, "No, he's not. But, Raimu, dear, are you really going to revert into yourself? And cry and not let anyone in?"

"You're the master of Shibuya, Josh. Why don't you tell me?"

He smiled sadly. "I don't think you want to be so sad, because Beat wouldn't want it. He'd want you to be happy, even though he can't be with you."

"It's a little more than the fact he can't be with me anymore."

"Really? Tell me what it is about, then."

She wiped a tear off her cheek and smiled sadly at him, her face twisted into a grimace. "I was going to tell him…and then I got a call to go to the hospital because he'd fallen off his skateboard and snapped his neck."

"Tell him? What? That you loved him? He already knew that, dear."

"No, I know he knew that. Josh, that morning, I'd… I'd gone to the doctor's and gotten the news."

"The news?"

"I found out I'm pregnant."

They sat in silence for a moment before he sighed, "Oh."

"Yeah…I'm almost three months along"

"So…Daisukenojo…?"  
"Beat was going to be a daddy," she sniffled and covered her face in her hands. "And now I have no one! And I can't do this all alone! I'm only nineteen, damn it!"

Joshua licked his lips and looked to the front seat, where Shiki and Neku sat. Their eyes were wide and they had let go of each other's hands.

The younger girl was hyperventilating. "Raimu," Joshua patted her back. "Calm down. You stressing can't be good for the baby."

"I don't even want it. Without Beat, I don't want it!"

"Don't say that!" Shiki turned and faced Rhyme. "Rhyme, Beat gave you this one last gift and you don't want it? Stop feeling sorry for yourself and realize what a wonderful thing Beat's given you! Sure, it'd be a million times better if he were here to go through it all with you, but he left you this amazing gift of a child! Don't throw that away!"

Rhyme dropped her hands, tears slipping down her cheeks. She folded her hands instinctively around her stomach, as if cradling the baby in her hands. "Of course…I do really want it. I just want Beta here, too."

"If it's a girl," Shiki turned back to face front, "name it Shiki."

Joshua put his hand on Rhyme's stomach, sensing the baby's heartbeat. He grinned, "I think it's going to be a boy."

Six months later, on the anniversary of Beat's death, a new Bito was born.

"He's so little!" Shiki cooed, standing beside Rhyme, who sat in bed, holding the baby boy, wrapping a blue blanket.

"So…is he named after me or Josh?" Neku asked, touching the little boy's nose with the tip of his finger.

"I was thinking his name should be Beat Daisukenojo Neku Joshua," Rhyme giggled, smiling down at her son.

"Holy crap," Joshua muttered. "That's a long name. Is it on the birth certificate yet?"

"No. They haven't come in to write it down yet."

"Then how about 'Beat Nekua'? Like, a combination of mine and Neku's names?"

"How about 'Shiki'?" the older girl chuckled.

Rhyme was quiet for awhile, thinking. Staring into her baby's sky-blue eyes, exact copies of Beat's, she smiled. "How about 'Sora Beat'?"

"Sora? Sky?" Neku tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah, look at his eyes," the younger girl held the baby at such an angle that the two boys on her side could see his eyes.

Joshua smiled, "They do look like the sky."

"Sora Beat Bito," Rhyme cooed to the baby. "Welcome to the world."

The baby boy giggled, reaching his hand out of his blankets, towards his mother, smiling.

**A** year and a half later, a little blonde boy in a pair of overalls and a black skull beanie toddled into his mother's bedroom, his teddy bear trailing behind him.

"Ma?" the boy crawled into her lap.

"Hey, Sora," she giggled, hugging the boy to her chest. Twenty-one-year-old Rhyme couldn't help smiling at her son. He pointed to the picture of his father on her desk and smiled at her, his blue eyes shining:

"Dada?"

She smiled sadly at the picture, before turning to her son, "Yes, that's your daddy. I know he misses you and he's watching us. He'll be so proud of you."

"Yo," the little boy giggled, clapping his hands.

She nodded, kissing his forehead, "Yeah. Yo, Sky."

Putting the boy to bed that night, she tucked him in, kissing his forehead: "I love you, Sora."

She sat on her bed, running her fingers through her hair. She looked at the picture on her bedside table. She ran her finger down the face of the only guy besides her son she'd ever loved, "Good night, Beat. I Love you."

**How did you like it? **

**The last one was kinda sad, but kinda happy. It was the only thing I could think of to end the story, since siblings can't marry in Japan. **

** I'll probably continue to post little drabbles about them from time to time. I love Beat and Rhyme so I'll keep this up until I get tired of it. : )**

** Review and maybe Joshua will figure out a way for Beat to come back.**

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN! **


	21. Chapter 21

**AAAAAAAAAnd how are we all on this wonderful Saturday?**

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(46)

_I've been keeping company_

_With a ghost._

_(__Annie, Vanessa Carlton)_

"Rhyme," Shiki sighed, "I think you should start dating again."

Three-year-old Sora's giggle broke the silence as Joshua conjured butterflies from his palm, blowing them into the little boy's face. The young mother lifted the boy off the Composer's lap, holding him to her chest: "I'm not bringing a man into his life."

Joshua laughed, "Neku and I are here with him all the time, Raimu, dear."

"Exactly," Rhyme smirked. "I said I'm not bringing a man into his life."

Shiki cackled and Neku threw a shoe at her from across the room.

"Really, though, Rhyme. Seriously. It's been almost four years since Beat…" the fashionista trailed off, reaching for her friend's hand.

"Four years doesn't make it any less real."

"I never said that," Shiki assured.

"Four years won't make me forget Beat."

"Of course not," Joshua commented.

Rhyme's voice broke and a tear rolled down her cheek, "Four years doesn't make it hurt any less."

"Never," Neku said.

"Four years doesn't mean I'm not still in love with him."

"Ma," Sora reached up with his cubby hand, catching her tear on his little finger, "Don' cry, Mommy. I l-l-l-l-love you."

She smiled down at him, wiping her eyes. She kissed her son's forehead, "I love you, too, Sky."

"Hey, Sora," Joshua took the chubby little boy into his arms and stood, swinging him around, "how about we go get some ice cream? You, me, and Neku? All the men in our family? Hm?"

"YAY!" Rhyme's son- Beat's son- cheered, hugging the Composer tightly. "Ice c'eeeam! Ice c'eeeeam!"

"Come on, Neku, dear. Let's not keep the prince waiting," Joshua strolled out the door with Sora, Neku following behind.

"Don't forget his jacket!" Rhyme called in a worried tone, standing up from the couch. "It gets cold out."

Suddenly, the little boy's blue coat no longer hung on the coat rack. "GOT IT!" Neku called back to them.

"Rhyme," Shiki called the younger girl's attention, "I've got to go. I have a fashion shoot in an hour. You'll be alright here alone?"

"I'm not a little girl, Shiki."

The older girl left, closing the apartment door behind her. After standing still for a moment, Rhyme picked up Sora's toys and changed for bed. Joshua would bring Sora home and put him to bed silently, leaving Rhyme to her sleep, or leave a voicemail telling her not to worry, but Sora would be staying with him or Neku for the night.

Slipping into one of Beat's old shirts that was still too big on her, she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

_Yo, Rhyme,_ a voice said.

"Hey, Beat," she smiled, giggling. Her mind would sometimes produce crazy, perfect, generally pleasing fantasies. They were so real sometimes she could almost feel Beat's arms around her.

_Wha's with Prissy Boy carryin' off my son like he's his father?_

"Joshua and Neku are great with Sora. They help so much."

_Cause I ain't there ta help?_

"Mostly."

_I'm really sorry 'bout tha', Rhyme. Sora… my son. Weird to think tha' I have a son. I wish I coul' hold 'im. Just once. He's a great kid, don' ya think?_

"He reminds me so much of you."

_Really? Good thing, righ'?_

"A very good thing. He's my own mini Beat."

_He's growin' so fast. I wanna hold 'im and teach 'im stuff.__ I wish…_

"I wish you were here with me, Beat. I wish you could hold me and kiss me. I wish you weren't just some figment of my imagination. I wish you could pick up Sora and tell him you love him. I wish he knew his daddy." Tears rolled down her cheeks.

_I do, too. Rhyme. I want all those things. But…it migh' be a bit hard ta get 'em, huh? I don' want ya sad, Rhyme. …Maybe Shiki was right._

"About what?"

_About ya datin' again. As much as I want ya ta me mine an' only mine fo'ever, ya need to find happiness again._

"Sora's my happiness. You're my happiness. Joshua and Neku and Shiki are my happiness."

_Wha' 'bout yo' art? Haven't done any in a while, have ya?_

"No, I haven't. I'm a single, widowed mother with a toddler. You think I have time to paint and draw?"  
_Then…how are ya payin' for this swanky apartment an' all yo' clothes and food and all o' Sora's toys?_

"Mom sends me some money every two months. Not a lot, considering she practically hates me and Sora, but, it's still some. "

_Not enough ta get by?_

"Well, Joshua's really rich and he gives us money when we need it-"

_O' course he _does, Beat's voice interrupted. _He's gon' want ya to repay 'im someday, ya know tha', right?_

"No. He's doing it purely out of friendship. He loves Sora and wouldn't want anything to happen to him, so he gives us money. Neku and Shiki give us little sums here and there, too. If they were in my situation, I would do the same for them."

_Wha' situation?_

"I had a baby at nineteen. The father never even knew he was having a child. That son is three years old. I have no job. My mother, the only family I have left, hates me. My son will never get to meet his dad. And the worst part is that I'm in love with a figment of my dreams!"

"Rhyme, calm down." But that wasn't Beat's voice.

Sitting up, she saw Neku and Joshua standing in her doorway. "We let ourselves in and put Sora to sleep and heard you crying. What's wrong?"

"I've gone insane."

"Huh?"

"I was having a conversation with Beat. I could hear him. Oh, I'm crazy."

Joshua sat beside her, "No, dear. You're not insane, I assure you. I have never seen Daisukenojo in the UG, so I assume he skipped right over the Reaper's Game. But…perhaps Sanae and I could look into it? Perhaps he's come back, in a way?"

"Really?" her blue eyes- so like Sora's, so like Beat's- shined with hope.

"Of course," he smiled. Rhyme wondered if she had ever seen him smile before that. He then stood up and flicked his hair form his eyes, walking out. "Good night, Raimu, dear. Come, Neku, dear, you can walk me home."

Rhyme lay back down once she checked on Sora, and heard the front door click shut and lock. She closed her eyes and yawned, snuggling under her covers.

_Good nigh', Rhyme,_ she heard, and felt something that felt like lips brush against her forehead- but of course it must've been the wind. _I love ya._

**Do we liiiiike it?**

**A special thanks to **_**K. Riley**_** and **_**Muu-Miu-Mew**_** for their continued reviews and support of this story. :) thank you! Really, how would this have carried on with out you? This story has the most (and longest) reviews (and chapters) out of all my 22 stories. And it's all thanks to you!**

**So…review? **


	22. Chapter 22

**ANYONE GOING TO SEE HARRY POTTER PART 1? I SO AM!**

**But that has nothing to do with **_**The World Ends With You.**_** So you can ignore my fan-girl outburst. DRACO MALFOY! *cough* just saying.**

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(47)

_Stealing other people's toys on the playground_

_Won't make you many friends._

_(Better Than Revenge, Taylor Swift)_

"Do you _see_ that?" Shiki giggled, touching Neku's arm. The ginger boy looked up and chuckled. Joshua and Rhyme were trying to coax five-year-old Sora down from the top of the jungle gym. The little boy refused stomping his feet and pouting and giggling.

"He's getting to be a handful, huh?"

"Oh, yeah. I won't even hold him now," the fashionista replied.

"I'm surprised the almighty Composer of Shibuya hasn't given up on the kid. Usually he gives up on anything if it gives him the slightest problem," looking back towards the playground, Neku laughed out loud. "Oh, would you look at that?"

Joshua was climbing up the small jungle gym, looking much too big for anything, calling threats. "Devil child!" "Wait 'til I- get up there!" At one point, the ash-haired man looked up at sky and screamed, "Happy with your kid, Beat? He's a little sonofabit-!"

"Yoshiya Kiryu! Don't you finish that sentence!" Rhyme called up at him. The man stopped and sighed, realizing the amount of small children around, before continuing his climb to the top.

"Come on, Joshhhh," the little boy grinned, "You can do better thhhan thhhhat!"

"I better get humanity points for this!" the man growled.

Rhyme laughed at him from the bottom. "Sora," she called, "ca you please come down now? Mommy wants to get ice cream and then go to the Skate Park so we can watch all the tricks!"

Sora's eyes brightened and he climbed onto the slide, giggling on his way down. "Mommy!" he ran and hugged her legs, allowing her to swing him into her arms. "Let's go!"

Joshua groaned, as he had just reached the top. "Are you frickin kidding me?

"Language," Neku scolded as they made their way out of the children's park to the ice cream vendor.

"Sea-salt," Neku and Shiki ordered together. **(A/N: ;3)**

"Vanilla," Rhyme giggled, holding her son in her arms, "And a small chocolate."

"Coffee," Joshua texted away on his orange phone. "And, guys, Sanae says 'hi'."

The hustle and bustle of Shibuya's summer crowd moved around them. People bumped into the group. Rhyme felt a hand somewhere it shouldn't have been. She whipped around, handing Sora to Joshua all in one movement. "Hey!"

"What?" Shiki turned, seeing a man laugh and wink.

"He grabbed my butt!"

Neku's eyebrows shot up. Afterwards, he would deny he ever said or did this, he would say he didn't even remember doing it, but he went forward and grabbed the man's collar. "You got a problem?"

"Get your hands off me!" The guy tried to shove him away.

"You got a problem? This is the twenty-firs' century. You do _not_ go 'round grabbin' young ladies' asses. 'Specially when they got kids. Unless ya want yo' ass handed to ya. Do ya _want_ yo' ass handed to ya? Cause I can arrange it."

"Calm down, man!"

"I will _not _calm down! Ya apologize to her. Righ' now!"

_Very imprecious, Phones,_ Neku heard in his head. _Now sock 'im._

"Huh?" Neku looked around, snapped out of his revere.

_Pick it up, Phones! Men don' run! Men figh'! He touched Rhyme. Now sock 'im._

"Beat?" the ginger man looked around, letting go of the other's shirt. The man bowed quickly, squeaking a "sorry!" to Rhyme, before running off like the wind.

"Neku?" Shiki grabbed his arm. "You didn't sound like yourself."

"You sounded like Daisukenojo," Joshua murmured, smoothing down Sora's blonde hair.

Rhyme's lower lip was trembling and Sora reached for her. Joshua placed the boy in her arms and she wordlessly held her son to her chest. "You…sounded like…Beat."

"Mama?" the little boy looked up at her with worried blue eyes. She smiled shakily down at him and kissed his forehead.

"Everything's fine, Sora."

An awkward silence engulfed them. Joshua sighed and bent down so he was eye-level with Sora. "Hey, how about we all go back to Uncle Joshua's and watch a movie?"

"Yeah!" the little boy squealed, clapping, reaching for the Composer.

As they walked back to Joshua's, Shiki and Rhyme conversing in hushed tones, holding Sora's hands, ahead, Neku looked to the Composer. "If the kid annoys you so much, like at the park, then why do you do all this for him?"

"It's not like I hate the little tike," Joshua smiled towards the three in front of them. "His heart is in the right place, just like his father's and mother's. He's just a child and he's so damn cute. You can't really stay mad at him."

"That's it?"

"Neku, dear, I know what it's like not to know your father. Mine hardly talked to me. I saw the UG from a very young age and he thought I was insane and evil -" he saw Neku go to open his mouth – "do_ not_ make a comment. Anyway, he wanted nothing to do with me. I wish I'd had a substitute father around sometimes."

"You're trying to be his substitute father?"

"If you think about it, dear, we both are. We take him out and play with him and he stays over our houses. We eat dinner with him and celebrate his birthdays."

They walked in silence until Neku sighed, "True."

"And now Daisukenojo has been showing up."

"Huh?"

"Neku, dear, you would've never done what you did back there if Beat hadn't been there in some shape or form. It was like he was controlling your mind and your body. You spoke like him, acted like him. And you don't even realize it."

"This is too weird."

"The part that bothers me is I can't _see _him," Joshua glanced around. "I should be able to see anything and everything in the UG and the Plane. I should know the Players and Reapers and Angels and Fallen Angels. But he's not anywhere."

"Creepy."

"Nerve-wracking. I've spent every second away from you all to look for him and I can't find him."

"You've been looking for him? Wow, Josh, that's really nice. And no one even asked you to. Just to make Rhyme happy? Man, sometimes you're a nice guy."

"No, that's not really it. I just want to be able to find him. As Composer, I should know everything. So, really I'm just helping myself by gaining knowledge."

"Suuuuure. Face it, Josh. You were doing another nice thing for Rhyme."

Joshua pouted, "Fine. So dear Raimu's happiness plays a small part in looking for Daisukenojo. Happy?"

"Immensely."

**And the plot-line thickens. : )**

**Likin' it? I actually have ideas for this! I know where I'm going!**

**Once again, a special thanks to ****Muu-Miu-Mew ****for all the support. It makes me all tingly and fuzzy inside, knowing someone's actually reading this. :3**

**I want to put Joshua saying this in:**

"You are _not_ fat; you're just the right size. You are _not_ ugly; you're beautiful. You _are_ funny. You _are_ loving. And you _are_ amazing. If anybody tells you other wise, quite frankly they don't deserve you, my dear."

**Should i?**

**And how about Joshua finding Beat? Maybe the song can be something like::**

_There's a place downtown_

_Where the freaks all come around._

_It's a whole in the wall,_

_It's a dirty free-for-all._

_(Take It Off, Ke$ha)_

_**HMMMMM?**_** If you don't review, I'll never know what to do!**


	23. Chapter 23

**A little Beat, anyone? :3**

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(48)

_Please don't be in love with someone else,_

_Please don't have somebody waiting on you._

_(__Enchanted, Taylor Swift)_

"I still think Rhyme should start dating again. I mean, all she has is Sora. That girl needs to get out," Shiki complained.

_No!_ Beat screamed, flaying his arms around. _No! Rhyme ain't datin' no one!_

"Maybe," Neku shrugged, flipping through the channels on the TV. "Maybe we should take her to a club or something?"

_Phones, ya don' even think 'bout takin' Rhyme to a club! I know wha' goes down there! _

"We could make her and Joshua date," Shiki suddenly suggested. "I mean, Sora's comfortable with him. And Josh is there all the time. Sora sees him as part of the family, so I think it could work out."

"Joshua? Are we thinking of the same person?" Neku turned to Shiki with wide eyes. "The Almighty Composer of Shibuya? The one still trying to earn humanity points? The one who controls ending people's lives? The one with almost zero feelings?"

_No…_ Beat sighed, clutching at his transparent chest. _Not Prissy Boy. No. He ain't bein' my son's daddy. Please, Shiki, come to yo' senses! Please. I'm still here! I'm watchin' over my family! My Rhyme, and my son…I'm watchin' them. I ain't leavin' them, Phones. Please, don' let Rhyme have someone else._

"Yeah. Neku, you have to think about Rhyme and Sora, not Joshua. And I think he'd totally be into being with Rhyme. And Sora."

Beat fell to his transparent knees, trying to clutch Shiki's hands. _No! Please!_

Shiki gasped, pulling her hands up from her lap, rubbing them together. "What's wrong?" Neku furrowed his eyebrows, taking her cold hands in his to warm them.

"I don't know. My hands just got really cold all of a sudden."

Beat tried to grab Neku's shoulders and shake him. _Neku! Come on, man! Ya can hear me, can't ya? Neku! Please! None o' ya can see or feel me! Ya gotta be able to hear me! Please! I promise I won' push any o' ya away again! Jus' hear me out! Rhyme _can't_ be wit' someone else! _

The ginger man shivered and rubbed his suddenly cold shoulders. He whispered, "Josh thinks that Beat's still…active. Like, his spirit, his soul, is still with us. But we can't see him. That's why I acted that way that day. And why Rhyme can imagine him so clearly. He's with us. Maybe even now."

_Ya got it, Phones! See? I knew yo' was smart! _Beat jumped up, his fist slicing the air in celebration.

"He would be with Rhyme, don't you think?" Shiki questioned. "Not here."

And Beat got an idea.

Suddenly, he was in the living room of Rhyme's apartment.

"Mom, please, listen-" Rhyme sat on the couch, watching her "mother pace back and forth.

"Raimu, I am disappointed in you! Have you no job?"

"I have to take care of Sora full-time, Mother," Rhyme muttered.

"And where is the devil child now? He's not here, is he? That…incestuous spawn of yours. You and your brother- nothing but shame to our family!"

_Do not call my son that!_ Beat yelled, clenching his transparent fists. _Rhyme and I love each other! And our son is jus' proof o' that! Don' ever say it's a bad thing!_

"Mom!"

"And even if you don't have a job, you couldn't at least get a boyfriend with money to support you?"

Suddenly, the front door opened and Joshua came in, holding five-year-old Sora's cubby little hand, shopping bags littering his arms. "Hello, Raimu, dear! I got you some groceries!"

_Oh, _hell_ no,_ Beat crossed his arms over his chest.

Mrs. Bito raised her eyebrows at her daughter. "I hope you don't mind," Joshua continued as he strutted into the kitchen without glancing at the two women, "but I bought Sora a new jacket. His old one was getting ratty. And red is such an awful color on him. Blue is _much_ better- it matches his eyes. For someone who grew up wealthy, you obviously did not spend enough time shopping to appreciate how people look in certain colors."

He came back into the living room; Sora still latched to his hand, Joshua paused at the sight of two women, not one.

"And…" Mrs. Bito grinned, "Who…is this?"

"Hello, I'm Joshua," the Composer extended his hand. "You must be Rhyme's mother. Oh, yes, she did mention you were visiting today." He looked down at the little boy holding his hand. "Sora, say hello to your grandmother."

The small boy pouted up at the old woman, looking none to happy about seeing her, "Yo, Gam-ma."

"Well," the woman straightened up, "he seems to have inherited Daisukenojo's lack of…articulacy. And this young man," she grinned Joshua, "is so charming, Raimu."

"He's _five,_" Rhyme stood and picked Sora up, holding him close to her chest, "he can talk however he wishes to. And, yes, Josh can be charming when he wants to be."

_When it be…bene…benefits him!_ Beat pouted, looking so much like his son. _Don' let him fool ya, Ma! He's a killer! He killed Neku!_

"Is he your boyfriend?" Mrs. Bito followed her daughter out of the room, leaving Joshua behind.

_Yo' better hope he ain't her boyfriend_, Beat followed.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because! He's…he's Joshua!"

"And? That doesn't seem like a very good reason! He's obviously wealthy. And well-mannered! He could take care of you and your filthy son."

Rhyme's back stiffened. She turned to her mother, eyes hard. "Get out of my house. Get out. Don't come back. Don't call. Don't write. Stay out of my life." She pushed her mother towards the door.

"Excuse me, Raimu?"

"This is my life," she shoved the older woman out into the hallway outside her apartment. "I've got my values. So you can keep yours, alright?"

"Raimu!"

"And don't you _ever_ call my son- Beat's son- filthy!" Rhyme slammed the door. She leant against it and slid down it, burying her face in her hands.

A little body pressed against her side. "Ma? Mommy? Don' cry. Gram-ma was a bitch anyway."

She looked up, surprised, "Where did you learn that word?"

"What word?"

"The B-word. Bitch."

"Uncle Neku taught me,' the boy smiled proudly.

She smiled softly, brushing his hair with her fingers, "Honey, we don't say that word. It's a bad word- a curse word."

The boy quickly covered his mouth with his cubby hands.

Beat sat down beside her. _I'ma find a way back to ya, Rhyme. And then we can be a real family. And ya won' have to worry 'bout nothin'. I'll take care o' ya._

When Rhyme made her way back to the kitchen, Sora stared blankly into space. Well, blankly for anyone who wasn't Beat. Beat stared straight into his son's blue eyes- the eyes that matched his exactly. "Daddy?" the little boy tilted his head to the side.

_Ya can see me?_

"O' course. You're right there!"

Beat smiled. _Ya know who I am?_

"You look just like the picture of my Daddy, so you must be him!" Sora jumped to his feet and hugged thin air to anyone watching. But, to him, his arms were thrown around his father's neck. "Mommy misses you so much! But…then why didn't she say anythin'?"

_Sora, yo' Mommy can't see me. So far, only yo' can. Ya see, I ain't fully here. But I will be, once I find out how._

"When will you be back, Daddy? Fully? I wanna _really_ meet you!"

_I wanna really meet ya, too, little one. But it migh' not happen as soon as I'd like. But wit' Joshua's help, maybe…_

"JOSHUA!"

Said man came in, smiling down at the boy, "What is it, Sora?"

"Uncle Josh, help Daddy!"

"Daddy?"

"My Daddy! He's right here! But no one can see him! He said maybe you can help! Fix him!" the little boy pushed the man towards his invisble father. "Help him so he and Mommy can be together and we can be a family."

And, suddenly, with the boy's fingers against his pant's leg, Joshua could see Beat, plain as day. "Beat?"

'_Sup, Prissy Boy? Ya can see me now?_

"Sora, don't take your hands off me. Now, Daisukenojo, tell me everything."

_I don' really know nothin' except that no on ecan see me, but ya can hear me and feel me sometimes. Now fix it, yo! Ain't yo' the Composer?_

"Give me your hand."

A transparent hand met a solid one and, suddenly, there were two genuine men standing in the room. "Daddy!" the little boy yelled, running to his father, who picked him up and swung him around.

"Raimu? There's someone here you have to see," Joshua called.

"Who is it…?" she trailed off as she stopped dead in her tracks, seeing Beat holding their son, both smiling at her.

"Yo, Rhyme," Beat sighed, his handsome face soft, eyes on her.

"Mommy! Look! Daddy's back!"

"Beat…" she whispered, taking a small step forward.

"It's me," he grinned, putting Sora down and opening his arms.

And suddenly she was in them, tracing his face with her fingers, feeling the hard reality of his skin, pressing a kiss over his heart, feeling its soothing heartbeats.

"Oh, Beat, you're…you're…"

"Alive?" Joshua suggested.

Surprisingly, Rhyme began beating her fists against her brother's chest. "Mommy! Stop! You'll hurt Daddy!" Sora protested.

"How! Could! You! Leave! How! Could! You! Just! Go! And! Die! And! Leave! Me!" each word was punctuated by a blow.

He grabbed her wrists and captured her lips in a kiss. Rhyme's insides melted as she felt those familiar lips against hers, the ones she hadn't felt in so long. "I love you," Beat whispered as he pulled away.

"I love you, too," his little sister giggled.

Sora tugged on their pants legs, reaching up to them. "Now kiss me, too!"

So Beat swung his son up into his arms and both parents simultaneously place a kiss on each of their son's cheeks.

**Awwww, happy endings, at least for this chapter.**

**Whose happy Beat's back? :3**

**I know, I know, you all love me for bringing back the best thing to ever happen to **_**The World Ends With You,**_** which I do not own.**

**Review if you love Beat! And his little boy Sora! 3**


	24. Chapter 24

**I'm baaaaaaaaaack. : D**

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(49)

_It could stay this sim__ple  
I won't let nobody hurt you_

_Won__'t let no one break your heart._

_(__Never Grow Up, Taylor Swift)_

Nineteen-year-old Rhyme lifted her shirt and turned to see a side-view of her stomach in the mirror. A tiny bump on her belly, hardly even there, made her smile. "Aren't you so happy, little one?" she rubbed her hand over her stomach. "I am so _deliriously _happy. I hope your Daddy will be happy, too."

She threw her arms out to her sides and spun around. "A baby!"

The phone rang, cutting off her laughter. "Hello?"

"Hello. This is the Shibuya Hospital. Is this the Bito residence?"

"Yes," she whispered, hand pressing to her stomach softly.

"Who am I speaking to?"

She shifted. "Raimu Bito, but I'd prefer Rhyme. Why?"

"We have Daisukenojo Bito here in the Emergency Room, in critical condition. He apparently fell off his skateboard and landed on his neck, snapping it. If you would come down here…"

Rhyme dropped the phone, her hands folding over her stomach. "Oh my Joshua," her shaky voice breathed. "No, please, no." Cradling her barely-there bump, she rocked from side to side.

When she arrived at the hospital, her hands were shaking. Neku and Shiki were sitting in the waiting room, holding hands. Joshua was pacing, obviously annoyed that he was not being told anything. "What are you all doing here?"

"We were on Daisukenojo's emergency contact list, apparently," Joshua commented, going over to her. He took her face in his pale, thin palms and kissed her forehead. "Raimu, dear, I promise it'll all be alright."

"You can't promise that," Shiki whispered.

Neku tapped his fingers on his knee, "Shiki's right, Josh. You may be the Composer, but you can't promise he'll be alright."

"Daisukenojo's strong."

"Beat may be strong, but even the strongest people can…" Neku didn't say it, but they all heard the end of his sentence…_die. _"Think of Achilles; he was invincible, and he…you know…"

"Raimu Bito? Yoshiya Kiryu? Neku Sakuraba? Shiki Misaki? I have some news about Daisukenojo Bito," a nurse and a doctor emerged from the doors.

"Yes?"

"He's…he has," the nurse stuttered.

The doctor took over: "This is never an easy thing to tell anyone, but he has…passed away. There was nothing we could do…"

Rhyme burst into tears, hunching over, holding onto her stomach. _Is she going to throw up?_ Neku worried.

Joshua grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to him, "Raimu, dear, don't cry."

"Oh…m-m-my…G-g-g-God!" she gasped for air, rubbing small, barely-noticeable circles over her abdomen. _But…but our baby! Beat can't be dead. We're having a baby. He can't be dead. Babies need their parents and Beat would never leave his child._

"Raimu," Joshua whispered in her ear, "I would appreciate if you would not take my name in vain."

She laugh, a distant, bitter laugh.


	25. Chapter 25

**To tell you the truth, when I started this story, I never intended to put any Beat/Rhyme romance. Maybe a bit Neku/Shiki, but never any Beat/Rhyme romance. But I did. My friend said the Beat/Rhyme romance makes this a crack fic. I never thought of it like that. Is it a crack fic? *frowns***

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(50)

_Easy now,_

_Hush, love, hush._

_(Epiphany, Sweeney Todd)_

Rhyme cradled a crying five-year-old Sora in her arms. The floorboards creaked. Looking up, she saw Beat leaning against the doorframe. "Bad dream?" he questioned.

The young woman nodded. Her brother approached the bed, crawling in beside Rhyme and his son, wrapping his strong arms around them. "Sora," he whispered, "Why don' ya tell me wha' your dream was 'bout?"

The little boy whimpered in response.

"When I was little," his father started, "I used ta have bad dreams all th' time, y'know? Dreams tha' would wake me up in th' middle o' the nigh' an' make me cry. I was 'bout ten years older than ya, though. An' yo' Ma would come in an' hold me while I cried."

"You did?" his son sniffled.

Beat nodded, "Yup. Can ya figure out how old I was?"

The little boy held his hands in front of him, staring at his fingers, counting slowly. "You were…fifteen?"

Beat took his son's fingers and counted, making sure he was right himself, "Yeah. I was fifteen. Yo' smart."

The little boy smiled and Rhyme giggled. "Did you have any girlfriends before Mommy?"

Beta bit the inside of his lip, "I had…a couple girlfriends. An'…some other girls."

"What's the boy word for _slut_?"

Rhyme gasped at her son's question, wondering where he had learned that word. But Beat laughed: "They haven't come up wit' one yet."

The little boy only shrugged, "Whatever."

"How 'bout Daddy sleeps wit' ya fo' tonigh'?"

His son nodded, reaching for him. "Yes, I love you, Daddy."

(51)

_You, sir, too, sir,  
Welcome to the grave!_

_(Epiphany, Sweeney Todd)_

Twenty-year-old Beat sat up, his head reeling. "Ugh," he cracked his neck, feeling a sharp pain.

"Yeah," said someone beside him. "Being dead will give you _such_ a crick in the neck."

"Dead?" Beat jumped up. His knees buckled.

"Yeah," said someone on his other side. "Being dead makes your knees weak."

"Alright," said a crazy-sounding man, turning in the young man's direction. His eyes were looking in different directions, one right, one left. "You, sir," he pointed to Beat with a thin, skeletal finger, "now don't be shy. Come and visit your good friend Death."

"So…I'm dead?" Beat croaked, his throat dry.

"Oh, yes, I would think so," said the man called Death.

"So…I'll never see Rhyme?"

"I like rhymes!" said someone to Beat's right.

Beat needed to correct him, his mind twisting and his voice getting frantic as he struggled to explain himself, gripping the sides of his head: "No, Rhyme's my girlfriend- my sister- I don' know wha' she is, but she's somethin' to me!"

"Oh," said a young woman to Beat's left. "That's heartbreaking." She had a childish face, no older than fifteen years. Her white-blonde hair was a tangled mess, water dripping from her heavy, old-fashioned dress, creating a puddle around her feet. She had wreath of flowers on her head. Her bare toes played in the self-made pond around her.

Two people to the dripping girl's left were holding hands, one wearing orange, and the other blue. The girl had flowing dark hair, and a young, dimpled face, the chest of her tight bodice covered in the dark red of dried blood. The boy beside her looked like he was only just reaching manhood, his face sharpening out, about fifteen. His lips were chapped and cracked, bleeding, but wet, as if he had drunk something. "Though body may decay, love may last forever and a day," the boy sighed, catching Beat's eye.

"Yo, man, yo' talk funny," Beat chuckled.

The young boy stood up, "I am Romeo," he gestured to the young girl beside him, who smiled prettily up at Beat, "and this is my wife, Juliet. We wait here for the chance to converse with our parents, though we have not seen them yet."

"Ophelia, over there, drowned herself, did you know?' the Juliet girl said conversationally.

"Accidentally," the dripping girl defended herself. "But it was like flying, my robes spread around me, the flower petals drifting in the water. I always liked the water. It's a nice way to die, don't you think?"

"Wait," Beat held up his hand, turning to the boy named Romeo, "she's yo' wife? But...how old are ya?"

"I am fifteen years of age, Juliet thirteen. She would've been fourteen in a fortnight, if we had not ended our lives."

"Ended yo' lives? You killed yo' selves?"

Juliet nodded, "We died for love."

"How...?"

"A happy dagger," the young girl answered, touching her bloodstained chest.

"A bitter poison," said the boy, touching his wet lips.

"An' you...?" Beat turned to the dripping girl.

"I am Ophelia. Leaning over a stream, flowers twined into my hair, hoping to see a reflection other than my own, not wishing to be known as Hamlet's girlfriend, Polonius's daughter, Laertes's sister. I walked the ragged edge before falling into the water, letting my robes billow around me, flower petals suspended around me, until my dress was waterlogged and I was pulled to the bottom, water filling my lungs-"

"Ophelia, ever the poet," Romeo rolled his eyes.

"I've heard o' ya befo'," Beat sighed. "All o' ya."

"Did Rhyme speak in rhymes?" questioned Ophelia. "I do love a good rhyme."

"You would, mad lady," chuckled Romeo.

"I am not mad. _O, woe is me, To have seen what I have seen, see what I see!"_

"We have all seen things we would rather have kept from our eyes," said Juliet, "but that does not mean we all abandon our identities and speak of our deaths as if they were magical."

"The beauty of madness is not knowing you are mad, or not caring, for you are happy in your own world," Romeo said.

"Yo' all from books," Beat said. "Rhyme read them to me."

"Just because it's a story, doesn't mean it's not true," Romeo countered.

"So...this ain't all in my head, then?"

"Of course it's in your head, but why would that mean it's not real. It is physical and mental," said Opheila.

"Wha' is?"

"Death," answered Juliet.

Beat sat down, defeated, "Death..."


	26. Chapter 26

**Snow day! We have so much snow up here it is as ridiculous as a Bogart! Ha-ha Harry Potter humor. **

**But That has nothing to do with **_**The World Ends With You.**_** I haven't updated in awhile, but I have a couple other stories I'm actually writing and a middle ideas floating around in my mind. So bare with me.**

**I actually get a lot of "Favorites" and "Story Alerts" on my stories, but, recently, I haven't seen a lot of reviews. Oh, well. Beggars can't be choosers.**

**-**** And a change of the Name could be possible. "Beat & Rhyme's Playlist" is kind of boring for a Title. Suggestions are welcome. **

**Enough of my rants.**

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

(52)

_All my life I've been good_

_But now, whoa, I'm thinking _

'_What the Hell'?_

_(What The Hell, Avril Lavigne)_

Nineteen-year-old Rhyme climbed out of her window, "Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't fall. Don't fall."

Dropping to the ground, landing rather safely, she hoisted her bag over her shoulder, scanning the area for anyone who could stop her. Seeing no one, she sprinted off down the street, little feet hitting the ground repeatedly.

When she finally reached her destination, she grinned. Rhyme caught her breath, running a hand through her disheveled hair to fix it. Her knuckles rapped on the door and it opened.

Beat stood there, his bare chest glistening, boxers riding low on his hips, hair slicked back as if he had just gotten out of the shower. In fact, the towel over his shoulder told Rhyme she was right about that. "Hey," she bit her lip nervously.

"I din' know ya were comin' over tonigh'," he grinned.

"Oh?" Rhyme raised her eyebrows. "Why do you sound so nervous? Do you have another girl here?"

"N-no!"

The petite girl giggled, "You don't sound so sure."

"Rhyme, I woul' never have another girl here," he reached out and stroked her soft cheek with his big, calloused fingers. "I wouln't."

"Now that we're together, you mean," she smiled slyly. "Let's not forget the first time I came over here."

"I don' even 'member tha' girl's name," he told her.

"You called her Bambi," Rhyme reminded him.

He frowned at her, "Thanks."

She put her hands on his bare chest and felt his muscles twitch. She pushed against him, though it was not enough to move him, and he got the idea, stepping back. "Wan' some food?" he asked politely when she pushed him past his kitchen.

She shook her head, smirking up at him, pushing him farther and farther into the apartment, against the door of his bedroom. She pushed him against the door until it opened, and then pushed him into his desk chair. "Guess what?" she put her hands on his shoulder, now that she could reach.

"What?"

"You're going to kiss me now, Daisukenojo," she whispered. For once, he didn't wince or freak out when he heard his given name; he only placed his hands on her hips and nodded, but asked:

"Wha' happened to my lil' Rhyme, who wouldn't even _ask_ fo' a kiss?"

"She's not so little anymore."

Xoxoxo

When Rhyme awoke, she was cold. The only warmth she could find was that of something beside her. She opened her eyes and saw beat's bare body beside hers. She snuggled under his thin sheets and hugged her body to his.

"Rhyme?" he groaned as he awoke, sitting up, taking his warmth and the warmth of his sheets with him.

"Yes?"

He looked around and flopped back down, rubbing his hand over his forehead, "So las' nigh' really did happen."

"Yeah," she wrapped his sheets around her, shivering against the cold. "It really did. …Do you…do you regret it?"

His silence was enough of an answer for her. She watched as he stood, never speaking, and made for the bathroom. She heard the door close and the shower start. She sat in his bed, hands shaking, for the whole hour he had the water running. Tears threatened to fall but never did.

At least, not until he made his way into the room, dressed with his back to her, and left the apartment. All in silence.

Rhyme couldn't help it. She cried. The tears fell silently from her eyes, silently, like Beat's treatment. She covered her face with her hands and breathed in deep, calming herself. Digging her phone from her bag, she called Beat. No answer. She called again. And again. And again. And again. For two hours, she called him, all with no answer. Finally, she dialed her only hope, Shiki.

"Hey, Shiki."

"_Rhyme? You sound upset. What's wrong?"_

"It's been three hours and he won't return my calls. I leave messages and he won't call me back," Rhyme whined.

"_Did you guys get in a fight?"_

"No."

"_Maybe he's working. Maybe he's busy. Maybe it has nothing to do with y-"_

"We did it, okay?" Rhyme interrupted her. "We did and now he won't call me back."

There was silence on the other end and Rhyme had had enough of silence. Just as she was about to hang up, Shiki exploded: _"IT? What do you mean you 'did it'? You did _It_ it?"_

"Yeah, we did it," Rhyme felt tears running down her cheeks again.

"_You did IT?"_

"I didn't even want to tell you. I only did because I'm angry."

"_Oh, honey,"_ Shiki sighed. _"Maybe he's just in shock. Neku did that the first time we slept together."_

"Did he just leave? Get up when you asked him if he regretted it? The not talk to you for an hour and then just leave? And not take your calls?"

"_Well, no…"_

"He hates me," Rhyme choked. "I did something wrong and he hates me. I disappointed him. He-"

"_Rhyme,"_ Shiki cut her off, _"he loves you very much. He's just confused."_

"I hope that's it."

Xoxoxox

Rhyme had given up hope. She had taken a shower, gotten dressed, packed her bag back up. She was opening the door to leave at the same time Beat opened to door to come in. They stared at each other, Rhyme blushing madly. Simultaneously, they blurted:

"I'm sorry!"

"Wha' are you sorry fo'?" Beat asked, stepping back inside, closing the door behind him. He sat down on the couch, looking at her expectantly. She sat down dejectedly beside him.

"For last night. And this morning. You obviously regret it and I'm sorry that we did something you didn't want to-" she said this all in a rush and only stopped when Beat's large hand covered her mouth.

His face was sad. "Rhyme, I don' regret las' nigh'. I jus'…yo' my lil' sister. I shouldn' have done tha' to you. I took ad…ad…advantage of ya'."

"Why didn't you call me back?"

"I was scared you were angry at me," he chuckled.

She covered her face with her hands. "I could never be mad at you, Beat! I thought you hated me."

He pulled her into his arms, resting his cheek on her head, "I'm sorry, Rhyme. I never meant to make ya' think tha'. Oh, baby…"

He looked down at her: "I love ya, Rhyme."

**So, what do you think? It's not the best, but I thought I should add another chapter and this had been in my mind for a bit. **

**Review, if you're bothering to read this.**

**Please.**

**: 3**


	27. Chapter 27

**I haven't updated in over a month! Wow! I am SO SORRY. That is…if I still have any readers…**

**A lot has been going on recently. I'm really sick a lot and I've got, like, 3 big projects for school. Sophomore year isn't anything like junior or senior, but its still pretty crazy, don't you agree?**

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

**(53)**

_Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while,  
But in time...  
Nothing can harm you  
Not while I'm around..._

_(Not While I'm Around, Sweeney Todd)_

Beat glared from the doorway as Joshua played with his son. So what if the all-mighty composer knew the shows the five-year-old liked, the jokes that made him laugh, the ice cream and snacks that made him smile? So what if Joshua communicated with the child better than Beat could? So what if Beat wasn't familiar with the action figures and wasn't sure how to play with them? So what if Sora smiled at Joshua like he was his idol, his father?

And, the whole time, Rhyme sat there, oblivious, reading her book and smiling over the pages at the silver-haired man and her son.

Beat watched, his eyes narrowing, as Joshua stood up and ventured to Rhyme, leaning over to whisper in her ear. He spared a glance at the skater as he lips worked quickly, silently. Beat watched Rhyme smile and giggle, pushing Joshua's shoulder in such a way that- to Beat -it seemed they were flirting.

Beat's blood boiled.

He watched _his_ son run over to Joshua. He watched Joshua take _his_ child in his skinny arms and parade him around the room, past Beat, into the kitchen. He watched Joshua place _his_ child on the counter. He watched _his_ son's wide blue eyes as they watched Joshua prepare sandwiches for three- as if Beat wasn't there.

The boy smiled happily, swinging his legs back and forth, as he chomped on his PB&J sandwich. He giggled his gratitude, "Thanks, Josh," and the older man ran his fingers through Sora's blonde hair, grinning softly down at the boy:

"Seems like the good Lord sent you for me."

Sora looked up at Joshua, not comprehending the man's words, but knowing it was meant as a compliment.

Beat watched as, hours later, Joshua hugged _his_ son goodbye. Beat watched as Joshua kissed Rhyme's cheek and winked at her before he slipped out the door.

Beat watched as Rhyme put their son to bed. He heard as Sora asked when "Uncle Josh" would be back. He watched Rhyme smiled and answered, "I don't know" and kiss their son's forehead. He listened as Sora asked for "Daddy," begged for "Daddy." He watched as Rhyme beckoned him forward. He watched as Sora's eyes lit up and his chubby little arms reached for a hug from his father.

Beat felt Sora's little arms around his neck, felt Sora's lips move against his neck, his breath in his ear- "I love you, Daddy." Beat backed away, watching as Sora snuggled under his covers and Rhyme turned the lights out. He felt Rhyme's hand in his as she pulled him to their bedroom.

"SO," he said casually as he pulled his shirt over his head, "Wha's goin' on with you an' Prissy Boy?"

"What do you mean?"

"I migh' not be smart, but I ain't dumb," he commented. "I can see there's somethin' there."

He heard her sigh loudly and felt a warm body press against his back. "Beat," she soothed, "There's nothing going on between Joshua and I."

He turned and faced her, staring down at her pretty face, into her blue eyes- so like his –and felt his heart break a little. Her eyes were begging him to believe her. He cupped her face, "Don' lie ta me, please."

"I'm not lying," she whispered and he felt her breath fan over his face, warm and delicious. "You're the one guy for me."

"Rhyme," he said, closing his eyes, "don' do me no favors. Just 'cause we have a son…just 'cause ya think ya owe it to me… If you wanna be with him, _hell_, I ain't gonna hold ya back."

"Fine," he heard her say and, suddenly, his arms were empty, "I'll be with the man I want to be with."

He was sure his heart broke.

But, then, there were lips soft against his, kissing him slowly; hands against his chest were leading him backwards until the back of his knees hit the side of the bed. He opened his eyes as his back hit the mattress. Rhyme was smirking, hovering above him:

"You think I'd be in love with him? When I've spent the last five or six years yearning, aching for you? You think I'd let him replace you?"

He nodded, surprised but excited by the fierce, dominant Rhyme he was seeing.

"Josh may be charming and sweet at times," Rhyme leaned down and whispered in his ear, "but he's a demon. I'd never forget that, Beat. Not when I've had this brave, beautiful soldier protecting me. You may have been nothing but a dream for _years_, but, no matter what, it was _always_ you."

He grinned up at her, feeling like a love-struck teenager.

"Want to know how much I've thought of you, how much I missed you? Want me to show you how much I love you, brother dearest?"

He nodded eagerly, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Yeah. Show me, sister dear."

She giggled, pressing her lips against his, and he forgot everything but Rhyme.

**So, I hope this was good enough for you all- if there are any of you. **

**There's a bit Joshyme in there for ****LilBaibiiDavryn****,** **because I remember the mention of that in a review. I hope it was satisfactory. I've read some Joshyme stories and, even though I **_**love**_** Beat, they are pretty cute together.**

**Review if ou enjoyed this. & review if you didn't! : ) I like to know people's opinions.**


	28. Chapter 28

**I haven't updated since February! Wow! I am SO SORRY. That is…if I still have any readers…****I apologize. My computer has been down since..what? Late March? That's not much of an excuse, but it's the only alibi I've got. : )**

**This is my 2****nd**** most popular story. I think that's amazing. People like Beat and Rhyme that much? Thank you so much for all the reviews and alerts!**

**I cannot ****touch**** Neku's headphones, Joshua's phone, Shiki's Mr. Mew, Beat's skateboard, or Rhyme's cute little bell necklace, let alone **_**The World Ends With You**_**. What part of that says ownership?**

**(54) **

_All I can see is _

_Red, red, red, red, red. _

_(Red, Red, Red, Fiona Apple)_

Beat slid his fingers into Rhyme's hair. Her hat was on the floor beside them. He touched his forehead to hers. She smiled. He grinned. No one moved.

Sometimes it was just too easy. It was too easy to convince their parents that this was simple sibling affection. It was too easy to make others see them as an over-protective brother and a loving sister. It was too easy to seem like this was nothing.

But it was so much more.

It was very wrong, very unethical, Rhyme knew. Brothers and sisters didn't do this. They didn't feel this way about each other. She knew their parents would freak out, completely freak out, disown them, and throw them out. She knew others would look down on them, because how sick do you have to be to fall in love with your sibling? How desperate do you have to be?

She knew others wouldn't understand. No one ever understood the connection she and Beat had. No one would never understand how this wasn't something that had _just happened_, because falling in love doesn't _just happen_. You don't _just happen _to open your heart to someone completely and trust them with everything you have. No one would understand that this didn't _just happen, _but that it was something that had always been there, something they had just tried to deny.

Rhyme was sick and tired of denying herself what she wanted.

Beat knew this was crooked. He knew he wasn't supposed to be one of the guys who wanted her. Brothers protected their sisters from guys who want them. It was very wrong, so very wrong, to feel this way, to look at his baby sister and think about how she was beautiful, to be captivated by her.

He knew is parents would flip- and not in the good way. They wouldn't blame Rhyme, he knew, and he wouldn't want them to. They would yell, scream, _how could you take advantage of your sweet, innocent little sister, _throw him out, disown him, _how could you be so disgusting. _There would be a fight if they were ever found out, a horrible fight to end all fights. But he knew he couldn't fight whatever was going on between him and Rhyme.

Beat was sick and tired of fighting himself.

So eighteen-going-on-nineteen Beat pressed his lips against Rhyme's. They were soft, like he remembered, and so very hesitant. His large hand slipped to the back of her neck, his thumb rubbing against her skin, calming her, soothing her, until she was no longer tense.

They were bound to get caught, Rhyme mused as she worked her lips against Beat's, so nervous. Their parents were just downstairs. They would get caught, there was no way they wouldn't get caught, but how could she care about that when Beat was being so tender and kind, his lips soft against hers and his gentle hands soothing all of her tension away?

Suddenly, Rhyme was confident. They wouldn't get caught, of course they wouldn't. Their parents never came to check on them, they were only called down for dinner. Everything would be fine. How could it not? She was with Beat and her parents were down stairs and everything was perfect-

"KIDS! I HAVE BEEN CALLI-" the door opened to reveal their father, a man with receding blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The teens broke apart and stared up at their father in horror. Beat knew an explosion was due soon, because Dad was breathing through his nose like an angry bull and Beat knew enough about bulls to know their father was seeing red.

Their father clenched his teeth and Rhyme knew the yelling would start soon. Her eyes began to water, because how could she have forgotten that diner was soon, that they would be called down? She waited for the verbal assault. She waited for the screams, the _you disgusting children, _the _you incestuous slut, _but all her father did was hiss, "Get out."

"Huh?" she whimpered, but he wasn't looking at her. Oh, no, he was looking at her big brother, the one next t her, with his large muscles and sharp features, with his rough vocabulary and his soft heart.

"Pop," Beat stood. Their father sprang forward, grabbing Beat's collar and wrestling him into the hall. He pushed him towards, the stairs, shoving his chest.

"GET OUT! I DON'T EVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" he pushed once more and Beat toppled towards the stairs, tripping backwards.

"Beat!" Rhyme cried, running forward, trying to grab his hand, check on him, and see if he was alright. But her father grabbed her shoulders, pulling her back, restraining her, her arms behind her back as if she were a criminal. "Daddy, let go!"

Beat was scrambling, grabbing his light coat and his skateboard, doing as he was told. He stopped at the door and looked back at Rhyme, smiling sadly, looking so broken, before he turned and left.

Rhyme felt tears roll down her cheeks. "It's alright, Raimu," her father soothed, hugging her, "he won't hurt you anymore." She pushed away from his chest and shook her head, seeing red.

"How could you?"

She stormed into her room, skipping dinner even though her stomach was growling Serengeti-style, and grabbed her paints. She sketched two silhouettes, a boy and a girl, sitting, staring at each other. She painted them carefully, one blue, the other yellow. Rhyme, grabbing the brightest shade of red she had, watered it down and spread it over the canvas thinly, as to allow the yellow and blue to show.

By the time the painting was finished, she had calmed down, and the more rational part of her mind took over, allowing her feel the loneliness in her heart without Beat there.

It was very wrong, very unethical, Rhyme knew, to feel this way for her brother. She knew their parents would freak out, completely freak out, disown them, and throw them out. She knew they wouldn't understand, because they had never understood anything. They had never understood Beat and, she now realized, they had never understood her.

So she sat on her bed, alone in the dark. Staring at her painting, Rhyme allowed herself to feel blue and see red.

**Liiiiiiiike it? I do. I don't know why. Maybe I'm having some new inspiration now that school's almost over and I'm finding all these cool songs on youtube. What do you think about it? Put it in a review **_**(Hint)**_** and let me know! : ) **


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